Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Iranian Ambassador to Baku said the solution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is one of the main goals of Iran's foreign policy.

Mohsen Pakayin said ensuring security in the region is undoubtedly important, and therefore Tehran tries to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, IRNA reported.

"This conflict covers part of Iran's borders with Azerbaijan and Armenia. Confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia does not benefit any of the parties and, of course, not in favor of Iran," he said.

Pakayin also noted that in a certain period Iran was a mediator in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, adding that the parties of conflict want to resolve the issue within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group.

"The Minsk Group has been operating for 20 years, but has not taken any steps to resolve the conflict," Pakayin said.

He further added that the OSCE Minsk Group is not interested in resolving the Nagorno -Karabakh conflict.

Tehran has repeatedly offered to mediate in resolving the Nagorno - Karabakh conflict with the agreement of the parties.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 after Armenia's territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in the conflict, which impedes the development of the region, as Armenia continues its policy of aggression.

Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. through the OSCE Minsk Group, are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.