The Iranian ambassador to Baku has called on regional countries to join efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.We believe that peace and security will not take hold in the region without the settlement of the dispute, Mohsen Pak-Ayeen said on Thursday.
The worlds peace-loving countries, particularly those in the region, should try to contribute to the peaceful settlement of the issue. The Islamic Republic of Iran has also announced its readiness in that regard, he added.
Pak-Ayeen said Irans policy is to support any negotiations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia to help find effective solutions to the dispute, adding that Tehran backs the idea of a meeting between Armenian and Azeri presidents to reach tangible results.
Both Azerbaijan and Armenia claim the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is largely populated by Armenians but located in and accounts for 16 percent of Azerbaijan.
Ethnic Armenian forces took control over the enclave in early 1990s during a six-year war with Azerbaijan (February 1988 to May 1994).
The conflict left an estimated 30,000 people dead and one million others displaced before the two sides agreed to a cease-fire. However, a peace accord has never been signed and the dispute still remains unsettled.
The Iranian envoy added that Azerbaijan was well aware of Irans goodwill to help settle the conflict. He also hailed the positive approach by Azeri Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarovs to embrace proposals by other countries for resolving the issue.
On Wednesday, the Azeri foreign minister said that Baku welcomes proposals from any country to help settle the dispute.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has on several occasions offered to mediate in the dispute.
Mammadyarov also expressed his countrys dissatisfaction with the activities of the co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, saying Azerbaijan saw no improvement in the process of the settlement.
The OSCE Minsk Group was created in 1992 by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) to help find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The Minsk Group is headed by a co-chairmanship consisting of France, Russia and the United States, but it also includes participating states of Belarus, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden, Finland, and Turkey as well as Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Pak-Ayeen said Tehran supports any group that can take positive steps toward settling the row, but criticized the co-chairs of the Minsk Group for failing to adopt effective measures to help resolve the dispute.
By Press TV
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