Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Akbar Ahmadian says any change in the geopolitics of the region will cause insecurity and instability and escalate crisis.
In a Sunday meeting with Armen Grigoryan, the secretary of the National Security Council of Armenia, in Tehran, Ahmadian pointed to the latest developments in the Caucasus region and urged all parties to help establish peace and security in the region.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a landlocked region in the Caucasus and lies within Azerbaijan’s borders.
The region has always been internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan though it is mostly populated by ethnic Armenians, who have resisted Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over the territory.
Last week, Azerbaijan launched an operation designed to seize control of the breakaway territory and perhaps end a three-decade-old conflict.
The operation ended on September 20, after the Azerbaijani military routed Armenian forces in 24 hours and made the separatists agree to lay down weapons, under a Russian-mediated ceasefire.
Ahmadian reaffirmed Iran’s principled and unchanging policy on developing cooperation and interaction with the neighboring states and creating a region free of conflict.
“Frank and constructive dialogue among regional countries will prepare the ground for [improving] sustainable security, balanced development and prosperity of the nations in the region,” the SNSC secretary said.
Ahmadian voiced Iran’s readiness to arrange a meeting among the regional states.
He placed a premium on increasing economic cooperation and joint commercial exchanges between Iran and Armenia and said Tehran is keen to boost relations with Yerevan in all sectors.
Grigoryan, for his part, said Iran and Armenia enjoy deep-rooted relations and voiced Yerevan’s readiness to enhance comprehensive relations with Tehran.
The Armenian security chief hailed Iran’s effective role in establishing peace and stability in the Caucasus region and called on Tehran to proceed with its efforts in this regard. He highlighted the significance of the economic, commercial and industrial projects between the two countries.
