Ali Larijani to Vestnik Kavkaza: Iran and Russia should use their influence to achieve peace in Karabakh

The Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the main issues in the region, which the Islamic Republic of Iran pays close attention to, the Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said today in Moscow. "There is enough turbulence and wars in the region, so we should not allow a new war there," he said, answering a question from Vestnik Kavkaza.

Larijani said that he held intensive talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with the chairman of the Azerbaijani Parliament Ogtay Asadov during his visit to Moscow. "We discussed this issue in detail," the speaker of the Iranian parliament said.

"We and our Russian friends share the same opinion that we should not allow the flames of war spread through the region. Therefore, the two countries, Iran and Russia, should use their influence and capabilities to persuade Azerbaijan and Armenia to resolve this problem by political means," he concluded.

Recall, on the night of April 2 all frontier positions of Azerbaijan were exposed to heavy fire from large-caliber weapons, mortars, grenade launchers and guns. In addition, Azerbaijani settlements near the front line, densely populated by civilians, were shelled.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20% of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US, are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.