Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 17
Trend:
Iran has always supported and supports the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Ali Larijani said.
He made the remarks in Iran at the meeting with Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov, the press service of the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.
Iran supports peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the norms and principles of international law, Larijani added.
During the meeting, the Azerbaijani defense minister noted the important role and the great contribution of numerous meetings and mutual visits of presidents, state representatives of Azerbaijan and Iran in expansion of the relations between the two countries, as well as in the development and strengthening of bilateral cooperation.
Touching upon regional security issues, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov informed Larijani about the ongoing negotiations on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, in particular about the recent incidents on the contact line between the Armenian and Azerbaijani troops.
The sides also discussed prospects for development of cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran in the military, military-technical sphere, as well as regional, global and other issues of mutual interest.
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.
