Azerbaijan appreciates Iran Supreme Leader support for Azerbaijan territorial integrity

Tehran, Nov 4, IRNA – Azerbaijan Foreign ministry in a statement appreciated Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei's remarks on the importance of preserving Azerbaijan territorial integrity. "We highly appreciate the statement made by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran Ayatollah Sayyid Ali Khamenei on the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict and the support given to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," the statement reads. “All the territories of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia must be liberated and all these territories must be returned to Azerbaijan”, the Supreme Leader said, reiterating the strong support of the Islamic Republic of Iran to Azerbaijan's just position based on international law," Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry added. "We highly value the efforts of the friendly Iranian state to resolve the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, including the visit of the Special Envoy of the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi to the region and the initiative on the settlement of the conflict as soon as possible," it noted. "We believe that the relations between our countries, built on historical roots, will continue to develop successfully and will serve to ensure peace, stability and prosperity in the region." Earlier on Tuesday, Supreme Leader in his statement released on the auspicious occasion of birth anniversary Great Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and Imam Sadeq (AS), and also on the occasion of the 13th of Aban cited the war between Azerbaijan and Armenia as bitter event. “This war is a bitter incident and it threatens the security of the entire region. "Of course, all Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia should be freed. All these lands should be given back to Azerbaijan. One of the main conditions is that these lands should be returned to Azerbaijan. The Republic of Azerbaijan is entitled to be in control of its territory, and therefore, all of them should be freed," he added. "Of course, the safety of all Armenians living in those lands should be ensured. International borders should be respected and the two sides should not transgress international borders. The integrity of international borders should be protected and terrorists should not be allowed to deploy their forces near the borders," Ayatollah Ali Khamenei noted. "According to the reports that we have received, although some people deny them while there are reliable reports confirming this, a number of terrorists from here and there have become involved in the conflict," the Leader said. The dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh started in 1988 and led to military conflict in 1992. Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed clashes on the border between the two countries in early October, each blaming the other for the violence. Nagorno-Karabakh has been a bone of contention between the two countries over the past decades. In 1994, following four years of military conflict between the two countries, some European and regional governments stepped in to end the territorial dispute between Baku and Yerevan, and a ceasefire was finally established through the mediation of the Minsk Group, consisting of the US, Russia, and France,. But international efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully have failed so far.