Iran against changing internationally-recognized borders: MP

Speaking in his meeting with the chairman of Iran-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group Gevorg Papoyan in Tehran late on Monday, Ebrahim Azizi said that the two countries of Iran and Armenia enjoy high capacities and potentials to strengthen their bilateral relations.

High-profile discussions between the two parliaments could pave suitable ways for taking advantage of these capacities, he added.

The Iranian lawmaker pointed to the significance of the issue of Caucasus and conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan for the Islamic Republic of Iran and added that military conflict in this region is the major concern of Iranian officials.

Iran invites the two conflicting parties to practice self-restraint, so that resorting to coercion and force is not the possible tool to iron out the differences, rather, negotiations is a fundamental need to restore peace and security in this region, he said.

Emphasizing that regional problems must be solved by the countries of region themselves, Ebrahim Azizi said that extra-regional countries should not be allowed to enter the region under the pretext of solving problem.

The head of Iran-Armenia Parliamentary Friendship Group, for his turn, said that Armenia considers Iran as a very powerful and important country in the region and extra-regional countries cannot tarnish the amicable and longstanding ties between the two countries.

Some countries of the region have a greedy eye to tarnishing the territorial integrity of Armenia, Papoyan said and expressed his thanks to the explicit position of the Iranian authorities in supporting the territorial integrity of Armenia.

MA/5606430