Iranian FM discusses fighting at Azerbaijani-Armenian border with counterparts from Baku, Yerevan
YEREVAN/BAKU. July 14 (Interfax) - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has had telephone calls with Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan and Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov to discuss the recent outbreak of violence at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Mnatsakanyan "informed his counterpart about the situation at the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan," the Armenian Foreign Ministry press service said.
The parties "underscored the importance of maintaining security and stability in the region and resolving conflicts exclusively in a peaceful way," it said.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry press service said Mammadyarov "informed Zarif of a military provocation committed by the Armenian armed forces at the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, the prevention of attacks, the persisting tensions in the region, and the current situation."
"The minister also pointed out that the Armenian aggression is the principal source of danger in the region and insisted on the withdrawal of Armenian armed forces from Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent districts of Azerbaijan," it said.
Zarif reaffirmed Iran's support for Azerbaijan's territorial integrity in his conversation with Mammadyarov, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.
"He pointed out that the protection of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity is Iran's regional strategy. In his words, Iran always stands ready to support the conflict's settlement," it said.
Armed clashes started at the Armenian-Azerbaijani border on July 12, and the fighting has continued for the third day in the neighboring Tovuz district of Azerbaijan and Tavush district of Armenia, which also border Georgia and are located hundreds of kilometers away from the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic, where the situation is currently calm.
Several battle stations located near the Armenian village of Movses have come under fire. According to Azerbaijan's official reports, 11 Azerbaijani service members, including a general, have been killed. Armenia has said four of its troops have been killed and five others wounded. Azerbaijan and Armenia have put the blame for the fighting on each other. A number of countries and international organizations have expressed their concerns about the hostilities at the border and urged the parties to start a dialogue. The Russian Foreign Ministry offered its assistance to Baku and Yerevan in stabilizing the situation.