Iran against foreign peacekeepers in Karabakh: envoy

Iran is against the idea of deploying foreign troops to maintain peace in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict zone, the country’s ambassador in Yerevan said.

Speaking to reporters in the Armenian capital on Friday, Mohammad Raisi said the resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict “depends on Armenia, Azerbaijan and the OSCE Minsk Group”, news.am reported.

“The deployment of foreign troops would threaten regional security,” the Iranian diplomat said. “Iraq and Afghanistan are vivid examples of that.”

Raisi said the chance of the conflict escalating into another full-blown war is low.

Armenia captured nearly one-fifth of Azerbaijan’s internationally-recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, in a war after the Soviet Union’s breakup in 1991.

Some 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and a million displaced before a ceasefire was reached in 1994.

Azerbaijan has boosted its military spending in the past decade, saying it reserves the right to use military force to regain control of the territory should peace efforts fail. 

Bakudaily.az