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Envoy: Continued Dispute over Karabakh Harmful to Region
11:43 | 2013-01-20
TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian diplomat cautioned that continued
dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Karabakh region will leave
negative impacts on the region.
Speaking on Saturday, Tehran's Envoy to Baku Mohsen Pakayeen said
foreign powers are using the dispute as a tool to pursue their
objectives in South Caucasus, and stressed that continuation of the
conflict will harm regional countries.
Trans-regional powers do not seek solution to the Karabakh dispute,
the Iranian diplomat added.
Meantime, Pakayeen stressed Tehran's readiness to mediate between
Azerbaijan and Armenia in Karabakh dispute.
Earlier this month, Baku's Ambassador to Tehran Javanshir Akhoundov
appreciated Iran for its readiness to help resolve territorial
disputes among the regional nations, and said his country supports
Iran's mediation in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan
and Armenia.
"On the first days of my mission in Tehran, the Iranian side urged me
(to inform my government) to hold a meeting to settle the Karabakh
issue, I conveyed the proposal to Baku and my country announced that
we are ready for talks but unfortunately the Armenian side didn't
accept (to attend in talks)," Akhoundov told FNA.
He appreciated Iran for its readiness to mediate in the Karabakh
dispute, and said Tehran and Baku enjoy good bilateral ties and enjoy
abundant commonalities.
"In today's world, we cannot find any two countries like Iran and
Azerbaijan which are so close to each other in cultural, religious,
traditional, historical and even geographical fields," Akhoundov said
at the time.
In November 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also voiced
Tehran's readiness to help resolve the territorial dispute between
Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
"We believe that the Karabakh issue will be resolved through dialogue
and the commitment of both sides to justice, and Tehran is ready to
negotiate with them within this framework," Ahmadinejad said in a
joint press conference with his Azeri counterpart at the time.
Despite facing strong international pressure, the Armenian and
Azerbaijani leaders have failed to agree on the basic principles of
ending the Karabakh conflict put forward by Russia, the United States,
and France in 2011.
Armenia and Azerbaijan remain officially at war over Karabakh and the
dispute is a major source of tension in the South Caucasus region
wedged between Iran, Russia and Turkey.
No country - not even Armenia - officially recognizes Karabakh as an
independent state.
The rebel region has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since it
broke free of Baku's control after a fierce war in the early 1990s
that killed 30,000 people.
11:43 | 2013-01-20
TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior Iranian diplomat cautioned that continued
dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Karabakh region will leave
negative impacts on the region.
Speaking on Saturday, Tehran's Envoy to Baku Mohsen Pakayeen said
foreign powers are using the dispute as a tool to pursue their
objectives in South Caucasus, and stressed that continuation of the
conflict will harm regional countries.
Trans-regional powers do not seek solution to the Karabakh dispute,
the Iranian diplomat added.
Meantime, Pakayeen stressed Tehran's readiness to mediate between
Azerbaijan and Armenia in Karabakh dispute.
Earlier this month, Baku's Ambassador to Tehran Javanshir Akhoundov
appreciated Iran for its readiness to help resolve territorial
disputes among the regional nations, and said his country supports
Iran's mediation in the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan
and Armenia.
"On the first days of my mission in Tehran, the Iranian side urged me
(to inform my government) to hold a meeting to settle the Karabakh
issue, I conveyed the proposal to Baku and my country announced that
we are ready for talks but unfortunately the Armenian side didn't
accept (to attend in talks)," Akhoundov told FNA.
He appreciated Iran for its readiness to mediate in the Karabakh
dispute, and said Tehran and Baku enjoy good bilateral ties and enjoy
abundant commonalities.
"In today's world, we cannot find any two countries like Iran and
Azerbaijan which are so close to each other in cultural, religious,
traditional, historical and even geographical fields," Akhoundov said
at the time.
In November 2010, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also voiced
Tehran's readiness to help resolve the territorial dispute between
Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
"We believe that the Karabakh issue will be resolved through dialogue
and the commitment of both sides to justice, and Tehran is ready to
negotiate with them within this framework," Ahmadinejad said in a
joint press conference with his Azeri counterpart at the time.
Despite facing strong international pressure, the Armenian and
Azerbaijani leaders have failed to agree on the basic principles of
ending the Karabakh conflict put forward by Russia, the United States,
and France in 2011.
Armenia and Azerbaijan remain officially at war over Karabakh and the
dispute is a major source of tension in the South Caucasus region
wedged between Iran, Russia and Turkey.
No country - not even Armenia - officially recognizes Karabakh as an
independent state.
The rebel region has been controlled by ethnic Armenians since it
broke free of Baku's control after a fierce war in the early 1990s
that killed 30,000 people.