Tehran, Iran, April 5
By Dalga Khatinoglu - Trend:
Iranian experts believe that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be resolved with respect to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.
"Conflict in essence does not benefit any side, therefore, the issue should be resolved within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, upholding the rights of the area's residents," Iranian expert Hassan Beheshtipour told Trend April 5.
He underlined that while after two decades of ceasefire, the world community had on the surface forgotten about the Karabakh issue, recent tensions showed that the problem should be solved somehow, rather than be left untouched.
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. More than 370 Armenian soldiers, 12 tanks, 12 armored vehicles and 15 artillery guns have been destroyed from April 2 until today.
Beheshtipour says that the continuation of war will not benefit the region since there is already enough conflicts in the Middle East.
Meanwhile, Davod Hermidas Bavand, former chairman of the Legal Committee of the UN General Assembly also told Trend that some positions adopted in the US, Europe, and Russia are inclined toward Armenia under the influence of religio-ethnic issues as well as Armenian lobbyism.
But, he added, a non-interested country can introduce models that would solve the issue within the framework of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and provide for the repatriation of the refugees and meet the satisfaction of all the residents of the occupied area.
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.