Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 18 / Trend T. Jafarov /
Iran recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as Azerbaijan's territory, commander of the Iranian Border Police Hussein Zulfugari told Trend on Tuesday during his visit to Baku.
"You are aware of Iran's position on the issue," he said. "Iran stands against weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, drug smuggling and war. If one country occupies the territory of another country, our policy is directed against this."
"Iran's position in this issue is open and transparent," he added.
"There is no relation between Iranian border guards and Azerbaijan's occupied territories," he said. "We do not have any relation with the opposite side. This position is based on our policy in the region. We hope that the problem will soon be solved."
Zulfugari said that he does not believe in the information that Azerbaijan's territory is used against Iran.
"Of course, there is certain informal information about intelligence and planned operations," he said. "But Iran believes that Azerbaijan will never allow to carry out this activity."
"There were no problems with security on the Iranian- Azerbaijani border as a result of the efforts of the border guards of the two countries," he said. "Therefore, the border between the two countries is known as a border of peace and friendship."
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.