Tehran congratulates Armenia, Azerbaijan on peace agreement
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian congratulated Armenia and Azerbaijan after the two countries agreed on the text of a peace agreement to end nearly four decades of conflict between the South Caucasus countries.
Pezeshkian in a phone conversation with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Sunday welcomed the agreement reached between Yerevan and Baku, saying that Iran has always welcomed the establishment of peace, convergence and stability in the region.
“Iran has always welcomed the establishment of peace, convergence and stability in the region, especially among the neighbors, while preserving the territorial integrity of countries,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei also on Friday welcomed the agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
He described it as a necessary and important step towards achieving lasting peace in the South Caucasus region.
Azerbaijan and Armenia said Thursday that they had wrapped up talks aimed at resolving the Caucasus neighbors’ decades-long conflict, with both sides agreeing on the text of a possible treaty.
A deal to normalize ties would be a major breakthrough in a region where Russia, the European Union, the United States and Turkey all jostle for influence.
Baku and Yerevan fought two wars for control of Azerbaijan’s Armenian-populated region of Karabakh, at the end of the Soviet Union and again in 2020, before Azerbaijan seized the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.
Both Armenia and Azerbaijan have repeatedly said a comprehensive peace deal to end their long-standing conflict is within reach, but previous talks had failed to reach consensus on a draft agreement.
During the Sunday phone conversation, Pezeshkian also pointed to good and progressing relations between Iran and Armenia and called on the two countries’ high-ranking officials to expedite the implementation of bilateral agreements in various fields.
Pashinyan, for his part, informed Pezeshkian on the finalized draft text of the “Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and Interstate Relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan” and the completion of negotiations on the agreement and hailed Iran’s support for the treaty.
The Armenian prime minister said his country would strive to continue negotiations and consultations aimed at implementing the agreement and also to organize regional relations.
He expressed hope that the two countries would sign and implement the deal in the near future.
Pashinyan also commended the efforts by the Iranian government to improve mutual relations and noted that his country is keen to implement the agreements signed with Iran.