Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 22
Trend:
Iran supports Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and sovereignty, said Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi.
He made the remarks during a meeting with Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said Apr. 22.
Iran is interested in ensuring peace and security in the region, said Vaezi.
The minister also noted the importance of expanding cooperation in fighting terrorism, radicalism and regional threats.
In turn, Azerbaijani FM Mammadyarov praised Iran's fair and consistent stance on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Mammadyarov noted that Armenia must withdraw its armed forces from Azerbaijan's occupied territories in accordance with the UN Security Council's resolutions for settling the conflict and ensuring the consistent peace in the region.
On the night of April 2, 2016, all the frontier positions of Azerbaijan were subjected to heavy fire from the Armenian side, which used large-caliber weapons, mortars and grenade launchers. The armed clashes resulted in deaths and injuries among the Azerbaijani population. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-attack, which led to liberation of several strategic heights and settlements.
Military operations were stopped on the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian armies on Apr. 5 at 12:00 (UTC/GMT + 4 hours) with the consent of the sides, Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry earlier said. Ignoring the agreement, the Armenian side again started violating the ceasefire.
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. 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 the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
Edited by EA