Regional realism; main feature of Iran's Karabakh initiative, Aragchi says

Moscow, Oct 31, IRNA – Iran's Special Envoy to Azerbaijan Republic Abbas Araghchi said on Friday that the most significant characteristics of Iran's initiative to resolve Karabakh conflict peacefully is adoption of realistic approach towards the region. Talking to Ria Novosti during his recent visit to Moscow, he added that so far, three rounds of ceasefire have been established in Nagorno-Karabakh, which have failed. One of the reasons is that the ground realities in the region are not taken into account. Iran's initiative, in fact, takes the ceasefire to the second stage, as it first emphasizes on a set of principles and calls on the countries involved to prove their commitment and show it in practice and respect it, he said. These principles include internationally accepted principles, as well as a series of specific principles related to the crisis, including an end to occupation, respect for territorial integrity, respect for sovereignty, the principle of unchangeability of borders, which is very important, respect for the rights of minorities, respect for humanitarian rights, and return of refugees which are internationally accepted, Araghchi said. He added that Iran hopes its plan will continue to pave the way for sustainable peace in Nagorno-Karabakh, yet stated that this isn’t easy since there are many problems, including interference beyond the region and interference from those who don’t want peace in the region. Taking into consideration the importance of this issue and Iran’s good ties with both countries, that is, Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as the special conditions and sensitivity in this region, Iran has always seriously declared its willingness to contribute to the establishment of ceasefire, launch of dialogue and establishment of peace and tranquility, he said.