Azerbaijan occupied lands must be evacuated but not by war

Referring to the conflicts between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, Ali Akbar Velayati said, "The war between Azerbaijan Republic and Armenia, two neighboring countries of Iran, and the occurrence of some developments, including the entry of the Zionist regime, Turkey and Takfiri terrorist groups into this war and the occasional firing of bullets and mortars into Iranian territory in this battle are among the issues of concern that must be stopped as soon as possible."

"We respect the territorial integrity of all nations, which is one of the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. We, as a member of the United Nations, insist on this principle, especially since these two countries are our northern neighbors," he added.

"In this case, the territory of one country is occupied by another country. Parts of the southern of the Republic of Azerbaijan, about 7 cities, are occupied by Armenia," he noted.

"In this case, four UN resolutions have been adopted, all of which require the Armenians who have occupied these parts of Azerbaijan to leave and return to the international borders," Velayati said.

He stressed, "All of us who are members of the United Nations must abide by these principles," adding, "So we want Armenia to return these occupied parts to the Republic of Azerbaijan."

"More than 1 million Azerbaijanis have been displaced by the occupation of these areas and must return to their homeland soon. Just as we oppose the occupation of Palestine by the Zionist regime, we have the same position here," Velayati highlighted.

"The solution is by no means military, but must be resolved politically; Therefore, we oppose any military action by anyone. Because the losers of this war are the people, especially since the residential areas have been bombed lately," he added.

He went on to say, "This war is against the interests of the people of the two countries, as well as the security of the region. Some outsiders are also increasing tensions, such as the Zionist regime and Turkey."

"If Turkey can, it should help end the war, provided that the occupied cities of the Republic of Azerbaijan are returned," he added, saying, "The Zionist regime itself is illegitimate and is based on the occupation of other territories, namely Palestine, and it has no right to comment on these matters at all. This regime does nothing but inciting sedition in this region."

"We are neighbors of both Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan. It is in our interest that these neighbors do not fight with each other. Armenia is our neighbor and we have a lot of commonalities with the Republic of Azerbaijan in religion, history and culture," he added.

"We are fully concerned about the fate of Azerbaijan and believe that its territorial integrity must be preserved and its occupied territories evacuated," Velayati stressed.

"We are neighbors with Armenia and have a long common history in the neighborhood. We do not want neither Armenians nor Azeris to be killed; Both Muslims and Christians must be completely safe," he said.

Velayati highlighted, "The Islamic Republic will not withhold any assistance for mediation and peace between these two neighboring countries."

Referring to the interference of France in this issue, he said, "We will not allow the region to be insecure and countries from other parts of the world to come and endanger the security of northern Iran in the South Caucasus. We will definitely stand against the insecurities that they create."

"We strongly believe that peace will be established in the interests of both countries," he stressed.

He also referred to some news about the entry of Takfiri terrorist groups in this war, saying, "We hope that the news of the arrival of Takfiri terrorists in this area is not true. If so, all those who instigated this event are responsible for allowing al-Qaeda and ISIL extremists to enter this sensitive area."

"Undoubtedly, the Islamic Republic of Iran will strongly defend its security and borders," Velayati added.