War Not A Solution to Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, Rouhani Tells Erdogan
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said the ongoing conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region has no military solution.
Rouhani made the remarks in a Thursday phone call with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, during which the Iranian side highlighted the necessity of maintaining the security of Iran’s border areas close to Azeri and Armenian territories.
“Our position on this issue is totally clear and we believe that war is not a solution and (the ongoing crisis) must be resolved through dialogue and negotiations,” Rouhani told Erdogan.
As two “powerful regional countries,” Rouhani said, Iran and Turkey can join their forces and help, in cooperation with Russia, to restore peace and security in the region so it can bear witness to the establishment of calm on the back of respect for the international law and regional states’ territorial integrity.
Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but is populated by Armenians and sought after by the Armenian secessionists.
On September 27, the separatists sparked a firefight by targeting Azeri forces.
Around 1,000 have reportedly died from the two sides during the violence. The flare-up has proven the deadliest to erupt between the two sides since 1992, when Armenians invaded the region with Yerevan’s backing and forced Azeris into a retreat.
