Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh noted on Monday that the country has prepared a plan to put an end to the decades-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
“From the day the conflict started, Iran told both parties that there will be no military solution to solve the decades-old dispute. Again while respecting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the need to withdraw forces from occupied cities, we stress that military conflict should be halted swiftly for the start of comprehensive political dialogue,” he said.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg added his voice to calls for an immediate end to the clashes over Nagorno-Karabakh. He expressed hope on Monday that Turkey would use its influence to calm tensions in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"We are deeply concerned by the escalation of hostilities, urge sides to immediately cease fighting and find a way forward towards a peaceful resolution. And I expect Turkey to use its considerable influence to calm tensions," Stoltenberg said at a briefing.
The Armenian side has said that Yerevan is ready to work with the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to re-establish a ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh, however, the Azerbaijani president has warned that Baku will use military means to resolve the issue if the negotiations are fruitless, stressing that the country must restore its "integrity".
In an address to the nation on Sunday, Aliyev said Azeri forces were advancing and retaking lands that had been in the hands of ethnic Armenians since a war in the 1990s.
He said Armenia must set a timetable for withdrawing from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding Azeri territories, and that Azerbaijan would not cease military action until that happened.
Aliyev said in an interview with Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber on Monday that Ankara must be involved in any moves to end the conflict.
Azerbaijani President Says Karabakh Ceasefire Possible Only if Mediators Guarantee 'Armenian Troop Withdrawal'
Aliyev believes that relations between Baku and Moscow are at a high level, and Russia's position on the current situation in Karabakh is "responsible."
Armenian Defence Ministry official Artsrun Hovhannisyan said: “I don’t think that there is any risk for Yerevan (the Armenian capital), but anyway we are in a war.”
Armenian Defense Minister David Tonoyan discussed on Monday the escalation in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic with US Ambassador to Yerevan Lynne Tracy, the Armenian Defense Ministry said.
The fighting has raised international concern about stability in the South Caucasus, where pipelines carry Azeri oil and gas to world markets, and about the possibility other regional powers being dragged in - Azerbaijan is supported by Turkey, and Armenia has a defense pact with Russia.
FA/PR
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