Iran hopes peaceful settlement will be found to Karabakh conflict - FM
27.01.2015,
15:22
Iran hopes that a peaceful settlement will be found to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, based on the international principles, the Iranian minister of foreign affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif said in Yerevan on Tuesday.
YEREVAN, January 27. /ARKA/. Iran hopes that a peaceful settlement will be found to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, based on the international principles, the Iranian minister of foreign affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif said in Yerevan on Tuesday.
Iran has been always supporting establishment of peace and friendship between the countries in the region, Zarif said at a joint press conference with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandyan.
Nalbandyan, in his turn, praised Tehran’s balanced approach towards Karabakh peace process.
The Karabakh conflict started in 1988 when prevailingly Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh declared withdrawal from Azerbaijan. In a referendum on December 10, 1991, 99.89% of Nagorno-Karabakh population voted for independence from Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan responded by large-scale military operations that led to loss of control not only over Nagorno-Karabakh itself, but also over seven adjoining areas. About 25-30 thousand people were killed and about a million had to leave their homes during the military operations.
A trilateral cease-fire agreement was signed on May 12, 2004, and has been followed since then. The ongoing Karabakh peace process started in 1992 under auspices of OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the USA, Russia and France. –0--
