Iran Says Ready to Help Settle Armenian-Azeri Conflict

Speaking in a weekly press briefing on Tuesday, Ali Rabiei underscored the need to respect international regulations regarding the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran will spare no effort to establish lasting peace in this region. The Islamic Republic of Iran stresses the necessity of observing and recognizing the territorial integrity of countries in accordance with international law and UN resolutions. We believe differences between the two neighbouring countries have a peaceful solution,” he said.

He added Iran is keeping a close watch on the conflict between Armenia and the Azerbaijan Republic.

“Conflict broke out between Armenia and the Azerbaijan Republic in our region. We are monitoring the recent conflict in the region with care and concern,” Rabiei said.

The spokesman added countries in our region have been living in peace and harmony for centuries, but arrogant powers cashed in on their differences to sow discord among them.

“The Caucasus region has, for centuries, been under the unifying umbrella of the Iranian-Islamic civilization. It has been a geography of coexistence and reconciliation among different religions. Different cultural identities and religions have had a very brilliant history in this region,” he said.

“Since colonial powers began to aggrandize identity differences to overshadow the commonalities that we have enjoyed for centuries, we have witnessed some engineered moves aimed at making the population flee the region and bringing about ethnic cleansing and forcing people into exile, and we are seeing its effects on disputed borders,” he said.

“We believe the Azerbaijan Republic and the Armenian Republic, inspired by the history and era of civilizational coexistence, can reach common understanding,” Rabiei added.