Iran offers mediation between Azerbaijan, Armenia
Iran has announced its readiness to mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the two estranged Caucasus neighbors, amid a flare-up in hostilities leading to heavy casualties on both sides.
Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remarks during a Wednesday phone call with his Azeri counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov.
The top Iranian diplomat expressed "serious concern" as simmering tensions between the two neighbors over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region have caused a fresh flare-up, leaving nearly 100 soldiers dead on both sides.
Amir-Abdollahian said the Islamic Republic was prepared to help resolve the conflict in a peaceful way and through political means.
"We always lay emphasis on the [need for] preservation of the territorial integrity of countries, including Azerbaijan's and Armenia's," he told Bayramov.
He underscored the importance of preserving the status quo at the Iranian-Armenian border, calling the frontier a "historic connecting route."
The top Iranian diplomat urged both parties to exercise self-restraint, emphasizing that the region could not take another war.
The Azeri official, for his part, considered the views of Tehran and Baku regarding the future of the region in convergence, expressing gratitude to the Islamic Republic for its efforts aimed at the resolution of the protracted dispute.
SS
