Iran ready to mediate Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict: Foreign Ministry

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Friday that Tehran is pursuing the recent developments at Armenia-Azerbaijan borders with sensitivity and precision, Press TV reported.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran stresses the importance of maintaining stability and peace in the region and invites both sides to exercise self-restraint, refrain from sowing discord and respect the borders,” he added releasing a statement.

The spokesperson expressed hope that the dispute would be resolved as soon as possible through peaceful ways with the two countries’ prudence.

Tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia are simmering again after they fought a war last year over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Azerbaijani and Armenian military forces engaged in heavy clashes in late September over the disputed Karabakh region. Both sides blamed each other for initiating the fighting in the Caucasus Mountains.

It was the worst spate of fighting between the two former Soviet republics since the 1990s.

Yerevan in November signed a Russia-brokered deal to end its conflict with Baku over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, committing itself to withdrawal of all its forces from the occupied territories in a move that has outraged Armenians who consider it as “concession of defeat”.

Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh is mainly inhabited by ethnic Armenians. Though a ceasefire was agreed in 1994, Baku and Yerevan continue to accuse each other of shooting attacks around the enclave.

Source: Iran Daily