PEACEKEEPERS WILL INTENSIFY WOES IN KARABAKH: IRAN ENVOY
Press TV, Iran
February 21, 2013 Thursday
Iran's Ambassador to Baku Mohsen Pak-Ayeen has warned against the
possible deployment of peacekeeping forces to Karabakh, emphasizing
that the move will cause new security problems in the region.
"The deployment of peacekeeping forces to the Karabakh region is
not only an ineffective measure to resolve the region's dispute,
but will create new security problems in the region," Pak-Ayeen told
IRNA on Wednesday.He said that regional countries can present logical
resolutions to the conflict, adding states and organizations outside
the region have no resolve to settle the Karabakh dispute.The Iranian
envoy said, however, that the presence of peacekeeping troops in
Karabakh is unlikely at the current juncture, saying the move requires
certain grounds which have not been prepared yet.Pak-Ayeen expressed
Iran's readiness to help resolve the Karabakh dispute, saying we are
willing to fulfill our duties to settle the problem if the grounds
are prepared.He added that maintaining ties with the disputed sides
would be an appropriate strategy for Iran, as the rotating president
of the Non-Aligned Movement, to help strengthen peace and security
in the region.Both Azerbaijan and Armenia claim the territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is largely populated by Armenians but located
in Azerbaijan.Ethnic Armenian forces took control of the enclave,
which accounts for 16 percent of Azerbaijan, in the early 1990s during
a six-year war from February 1988 to May 1994.The conflict left an
estimated 30,000 people dead and one million others displaced before
the two sides agreed to a cease-fire in 1994. However, a peace accord
has never been signed and the dispute still remains unsettled.Iran
has on several occasions offered to mediate in the dispute.SF/HJL/MA
Press TV, Iran
February 21, 2013 Thursday
Iran's Ambassador to Baku Mohsen Pak-Ayeen has warned against the
possible deployment of peacekeeping forces to Karabakh, emphasizing
that the move will cause new security problems in the region.
"The deployment of peacekeeping forces to the Karabakh region is
not only an ineffective measure to resolve the region's dispute,
but will create new security problems in the region," Pak-Ayeen told
IRNA on Wednesday.He said that regional countries can present logical
resolutions to the conflict, adding states and organizations outside
the region have no resolve to settle the Karabakh dispute.The Iranian
envoy said, however, that the presence of peacekeeping troops in
Karabakh is unlikely at the current juncture, saying the move requires
certain grounds which have not been prepared yet.Pak-Ayeen expressed
Iran's readiness to help resolve the Karabakh dispute, saying we are
willing to fulfill our duties to settle the problem if the grounds
are prepared.He added that maintaining ties with the disputed sides
would be an appropriate strategy for Iran, as the rotating president
of the Non-Aligned Movement, to help strengthen peace and security
in the region.Both Azerbaijan and Armenia claim the territory of
Nagorno-Karabakh, which is largely populated by Armenians but located
in Azerbaijan.Ethnic Armenian forces took control of the enclave,
which accounts for 16 percent of Azerbaijan, in the early 1990s during
a six-year war from February 1988 to May 1994.The conflict left an
estimated 30,000 people dead and one million others displaced before
the two sides agreed to a cease-fire in 1994. However, a peace accord
has never been signed and the dispute still remains unsettled.Iran
has on several occasions offered to mediate in the dispute.SF/HJL/MA