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News ID: 29724
Publish Date : 07 August 2016 - 21:44

Rouhani Backs Azerbaijan’s Territorial Integrity

BAKU (Dispatches) – Iran stands for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, President Hassan Rouhani said here on Sunday.
He made the remark as Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev explained Baku’s position on the Karabakh issue to his Iranian counterpart during their bilateral meeting earlier in the day, according to reports in local media.
"We hope peace and stability will be restored in the region. Every problem must have its solution through peaceful means. Iran has always supported Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and advocated a peaceful settlement to the issue,” Rouhani told press conference in Baku, as quoted by the APA new agency.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have been engaged in a dispute over Karabakh since 1988, when the region was occupied by pro-Armenian forces after the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The occupation triggered a war that lasted until a Russia-brokered ceasefire was signed in 1994.
On April 2, tensions in Karabakh escalated. Baku and Yerevan accused each other of provoking the hostilities, however, the sides succeeded in reaching a ceasefire agreement on April 5, which has been followed by near-daily reports of truce violations.