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Ambassador: Iran to control admission of Armenian sports teams

20 September 2016 13:19 (UTC+04:00)
Ambassador: Iran to control admission of Armenian sports teams

By Rashid Shirinov

The presence of the ‘flag’ of fictitious ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’ on the sportswear of some athletes at the sports event held in Iran was aimed to harm and cast a shadow over the high-level relationships between Iran and Azerbaijan.

The remark was made at a press-conference on September 19 by Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mohsen Pak Ayeen, who completed his diplomatic mission in the country.

Tehran hosted the opening of the 48th Armenian Olympiad which was attended by representatives of the unrecognized regime created on Azerbaijani lands occupied by Armenia.

Pak Ayeen noted that Iran has promptly responded to the provocation. “We immediately responded and took action. Iran opposes the use of sports competitions for political purposes. We have made a serious warning to the organizing Committee of this competition, and sports teams coming from Armenia will be let into Iran under tight control in the future.”

Iran does not recognize fictitious ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’. And Iran is against occupation and separatism and believes that conflicts should be resolved peacefully, the diplomat added.

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 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

Armenia still controls fifth part of Azerbaijan's territory and rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding districts.

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Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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