Iran cautions rising tension over Nagorno-Karabakh region

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi voices concern over the escalation of tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Qassemi said that the increase in conflicts is not in the interest of Azeri and Armenian people.

"Iran will spare no efforts to decrease tension in this region," he added.

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman expressed hope for restoration of peace and stability in the region and cautioned about enemy's plots for provoking violence.

In relevant remarks in January 2015, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated that the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia can be resolved only through political solutions.

Armenia and Azerbaijan thus remain officially at war over Nagorno-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 mountainous 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.

EA