PRESS TV, Iran
June 6 2008
Iran ready to mediate in Karabakh
Fri, 06 Jun 2008 13:18:43
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Sheikh-Attar says his country
is prepared to mediate in the dispute over the territory of Karabakh.
Speaking at a press conference in Azerbaijan, Sheikh-Attar said if the
parties concerned in the dispute agree, Iran would be willing to
mediate in the Karabakh conflict.
He said Iran supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, adding
his country is keen to boost ties with Azerbaijan in political,
economic and cultural arenas.
Ethnic Armenian forces took control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region
during a war in the early 1990s. The war left thousands killed and
forced nearly a million people on both sides to flee their homes.
A ceasefire was signed in 1994 but the dispute has so far remained
unsettled. Clashes often erupt along the ceasefire line and
negotiations have so far proved fruitless.
The Minsk group, which consists of 13 members of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), has provided a forum for
negotiations to settle the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh since
1992. So far, there has been no settlement of the dispute.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
