Iran urges immediate ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Tehran, Oct 5, IRNA – Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh wrote in a Twitter message late on Monday that Iran calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "Closely following conflict in #NagornoKarabakh & remain in touch w/ all parties. The warring parties should respect the law of war & avoid targeting civilians. We call for immediate ceasefire, respect for #Azerbaijan's territorial integrity & time-bound political talks," he tweeted. Armenia and Azerbaijan resumed clashes on the border between the two countries last Sunday (September 27) blaming each other for the violence. Nagorno-Karabakh has been a bone of contention between the two countries over the recent decades. In 1994, following four years of military conflict between the two countries, some European and regional governments stepped in to end the territorial dispute between Baku and Yerevan, and a ceasefire was finally established through the mediation of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). But international efforts to resolve the conflict peacefully have so far been unsuccessful.