Iran Invites Armenia, Azerbaijan to Calm, Self-Restraint

“As in the past, the Islamic Republic of Iran is ready to help the two sides settle differences and establish stability and peace in the region,” Khatibzadeh said on Tuesday.

He added that all countries should respect internationally- recognized borders, stressing the need for Baku and Yerevan to patch up differences through dialogue and peaceful channels.

Khatibzadeh warned that the ongoing challenges would pose a danger to the gradual process to the promotion of regional peace and progress.

Tensions between Yerevan and Baku remain high a year after the arch-foes fought a war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. The six-week conflict, which claimed more than 6,500 lives on both sides, ended last November with a Russian-brokered deal that left Azerbaijan largely in control of the territory.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan but has been populated by ethnic Armenians. Russia has deployed 1,960 peacekeepers to the region for an initial five-year period. Since the truce, the two sides have accused each other of breaching the peace deal.

Armenia and Azerbaijan on Tuesday accused each other of initiating fighting along their shared border amid renewed border clashes between the arch foes a year after their war over contested territory.