Iranian Foreign Ministry: Azerbaijan - important country in regional processes

14 December 2019 18:13 (UTC+04:00)

1 012

Iran is ready for cooperation in the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Mousavi said at a press conference in Tabriz city, Trend reports Dec. 14.

Mousavi said that Azerbaijan is a friendly country to Iran and an important country from the point of view of regional processes. One of the ways to develop bilateral relations is to reduce barriers to mutual visits of citizens of both countries, the spokesman noted.

Mousavi added that Azerbaijan’s Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic abolished the visa regime for Iranian citizens.

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, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

---