Iran hopes peaceful settlement will be found to Karabakh conflict – FM

YEREVAN, January 27. /ARKA/. Iran hopes that a peaceful settlement
will be found to Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, based on the international
principles, the Iranian minister of foreign affairs Mohammad Javad
Zarif said in Yerevan on Tuesday.

Iran has been always supporting establishment of peace and friendship
between the countries in the region, Zarif said at a joint press
conference with his Armenian counterpart Edward Nalbandyan.

Nalbandyan, in his turn, praised Tehran’s balanced approach towards
Karabakh peace process.

The Karabakh conflict started in 1988 when prevailingly Armenian
population of Nagorno-Karabakh declared withdrawal from Azerbaijan. In
a referendum on December 10, 1991, 99.89% of Nagorno-Karabakh
population voted for independence from Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan responded by large-scale military operations that led to
loss of control not only over Nagorno-Karabakh itself, but also over
seven adjoining areas. About 25-30 thousand people were killed and
about a million had to leave their homes during the military
operations.

A trilateral cease-fire agreement was signed on May 12, 2004, and has
been followed since then. The ongoing Karabakh peace process started
in 1992 under auspices of OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the USA,
Russia and France. -0–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress