Scientific conf dedicated to the 15th anniv of `Iran and the Caucasu

Scientific conference dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the `Iran
and the Caucasus’
01.07.2011 16:56

Anna Nazaryan
`Radiolur’

A scientific conference dedicated to the 15th anniversary of the `Iran
and the Caucasus’ periodical was held in Yerevan today. The event
brought together scholars and researchers from different countries of
the world. The periodical is issued twice a year.

According to Professor James Russell, head of the Armenian Studies
Chair at the Harvard University, the periodical provides an
opportunity to scholars to present new approaches.

`The periodical presents Armenia’s achievements. It was first issued,
when Armenia was in a hard transit period. I think the scientific
works it presents will contribute to the disclosure of Azerbaijani
lies and present the truth,’

`Iran neighbors Armenia and Azerbaijan, and has always been trying to
act as a mediator in the Karabakh settlement process, but all efforts
have failed,’ Professor of Political Science at the London University,
Iranian diplomat Ali Granmaieh said in an interview with Radiolur. He
has arrived in Armenia to participate in the conference.

Azerbaijan does not agree to Iran’s mediating efforts, since it
considers that Karabakh is one of the provinces of Azerbaijan without
taking into consideration the opinion of the people living there, he
said.

The Iranian Embassy issued a statement recently, where it declared the
unacceptability of the possible deployment of NATO forces in the
liberated territories. Can Iran play any role in the settlement of the
Karabakh issue? Ali Granmaieh said `Iran has good relations with
Russia and the position of official Tehran does not differ from that
of Moscow. However, the same cannot be said about Iran-Turkey
relations.’

Head of the Iranian Studies Chair at the Yerevan State University
Garnik Asatryan also attached importance to the role of Iran in the
Karabakh settlement process. `It’s only important for the interests to
overlap,’ he said.

From: A. Papazian