Iran’s Foreign Ministry Hails Nagorno-Karabakh Peace Deal
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed a recent Russian-brokered peace agreement between the Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry welcomed the ceasefire between Azerbaijan and Armenia after weeks of war in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran welcomes the agreement between the Azerbaijan Republic, the Republic of Armenia and the Russian Federation, which resulted in a ceasefire and a cessation of hostilities. Iran hopes the agreement whose principles had also been mentioned in an initiative put forward by the Islamic Republic of Iran will lead to final arrangements to establish lasting peace in the Caucasus region in such a way that it will bring tranquility and welfare for people in all regional countries and ease existing concerns,” the statement said.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran underscores the necessity for respecting the territorial integrity and sovereignty of other countries, a lack of change in internationally recognized official borders, liberation of occupied territories, the return of refugees, respect for minorities’ security and rights and the withdrawal of all Takfiri forces and foreign fighters from the region. The Islamic Republic of Iran also, once again, expresses its readiness to help realize lasting security and peace in the region and contribute to regional initiatives,” it added.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran also stands ready to help deploy Russian peacekeeping troops along the lines of contact based on clauses 3 and 4 of the ceasefire agreement,” the ministry stressed.
Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan and Russia said they have signed a deal to end the military conflict over the Nagorno-Karabakh region after more than a month of bloodshed.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan first announced the signing on social media in the early hours of Tuesday and the Kremlin and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev later confirmed the news.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin said Russian peacekeepers would be deployed along the frontline in Nagorno-Karabakh and the corridor between the region and Armenia.
The truce calls for the deployment of nearly 2,000 Russian peacekeepers to the disputed enclave, where the Republic of Azerbaijan will receive significant territorial concessions from an Armenian-backed local government.