IRANIAN OFFICIAL BLAMES NEIGHBOURS FOR ARMENIAN-AZERI CONFLICT

ANS TV
April 20 2010
Azerbaijan

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has said that
neighbouring countries created conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In an interview with private Azerbaijani ANS TV, presumably filmed
in Tehran, Ramin Mehmanparast said, in Persian with a superimposed
Azerbaijani translation: "It is clear that the regional confrontation
occurs with the interference of neighbouring countries. As a result,
the interests of all regional countries come under threat. Taking
advantage of our relations with Armenia and the Azerbaijani Republic,
we will try to achieve the settlement of the Nagornyy Karabakh
conflict. This is included in our work plan."

ANS TV’s website at anspress.com quoted Mehmanparast as saying the
following: "Tehran is interested in the resolution of the Nagornyy
Karabakh conflict and believes that it is important to carry out
thorough work to achieve a breakthrough". He added that external
interference in the conflict hampered a positive settlement to it.

"Iran tries to put an end to regional confrontations and to conflicts
that could negatively influence the development of the countries.

Within our cooperation efforts we try to solve such problems and
we hope to achieve a positive result. I think Iran makes sufficient
efforts to solve regional problems. Iranian officials are ready to
fulfil all of their commitments," Ramin Mehmanparast said. "First,
we need to find the causes of the conflict between Azerbaijan and
Armenia and then eradicate those causes. Then we will see that peace
and stability dominates the region," the website quoted Mehmanparast
as saying.