Official Tehran calls for withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied territories

Baku / 06.10.20 / Turan: Armenia must immediately leave the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. Ali Akbar Velayati, international affairs adviser to the Spiritual Leader of Iran and ex-foreign minister of Iran, said this in an interview with YJC agency. “We respect the principle of the territorial integrity of states. As a UN member state, Iran adheres to a principled position on this issue. Especially when the conflicting countries are our northern neighbors,” he said.

Ali Khamenei's adviser noted the inadmissibility of the occupation of the territory of one country by another. “Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions of the Azerbaijan Republic are occupied. The UN has adopted four resolutions on this issue. All of them demand from Armenia to leave the occupied lands and return to international borders,” he said.

Velayati stressed that all UN member states must obey the norms of international law and the requirements of the UN Security Council resolutions. “Tehran is in favor of Armenia returning the occupied territories to the Republic of Azerbaijan. More than a million Azerbaijanis were forced to leave their lands. These people should return to their homes,” he said.

“Problem solving cannot be military. Political advantage is important. Iran is against military initiatives, no matter who they are undertaken. The losers in this war are ordinary people. In recent days, peaceful villages and cities have been bombed. The war runs counter to the interests of the peoples of both countries and endangers the security of the region,” Velayati said. -02D-