By reflecting to Karabakh Iran sends a message to countries endangering regional stability: Ali Salami
“The statement by Iran’s defense minister on impermissibility of mediation of third countries is a global message to all countries attempting to develop their personal interests endangering regional stability,” Dr. Ali Salami, Iranian analyst, former editor-in-chief of Tehran Times, told 168.am, reflecting to noteworthy remarks made by Iran’s defense minister.
Note, Iran’s defense minister Hossein Dehghan during negotiations with his Azerbaijani counterpart stated, “We hope Azerbaijan and Armenia will assume obligation to reach the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict and will prevent further escalation of the crisis, by not allowing external and irrelevant interference.” Iran’s Defense Minister covered regional issues as well, pointing at the powers, which in his opinion, endanger regional security and stability.
“Not only the region but the world is involved in terrorist trends like Daesh (the ISIL), Al-Nusra Front and the extremist groups connected with Takfirism, Wahhabism and US, Zionist regime and Saudi Arabia aggressive policies,” Dehghan said.
“We shouldn’t allow external powers violate military cooperation between Azerbaijan and Iran. Our peoples have close relations first and foremost due to ethnic, historical, cultural and religious ties. Our relations deepen day by day. It would be better if those relations also developed in the field of defense,” Hossein Dehghan said.
Ali Salami said he doesn’t observe any nuances in Minister’s remarks, as they reflect Iran’s position in NK conflict resolution. And in this conflict zone any change, in his words has direct relation to Iran’s security.
“On account of this I can say that change of the status quo in favor of Azerbaijan isn’t beneficial for the Iranian side, involving return of territories, deploying peacekeeping mission. However, Iran supports regional stability and excludes war, that’s why, as one of the most interested sides, it doesn’t interfere with the settlement process and follows a group with international mandate—The Minsk Group, expressing hope that settlement isn’t so far. In this regard Minister’s remarks don’t contain anything news,” Ali Salami said.
The latter believes the part of Dehghan’s speech referring to exclusion of interference of third countries has various addressees.
“It isn’t a secret that conflicts, including one of the most problematic in our region, has actors with different interests and they endanger regional stability, peace and security. I mean the countries, which by their activities attempt to change the conflict course in favor of them, ignoring work of OSCE MG. Activities of both Russia and Turkey from time to time are perceived that way.
Russia attempts to keep its hegemonic positions in this region and strengthen through this conflict by pushing forward its interests, in which settlement not always is on the first place, if not the contrary, and Turkey openly supports Azerbaijan, attempting to become a MG member, which is impossible. In any case these efforts by Turkey prove that Turkey isn’t a neutral actor in this issue, in particular, when during the April War days it openly supported Azerbaijan on the level of country’s president, PM and ministers.
On account of this we may say the addressee of the minister’s words was also his Azerbaijani counterpart, whom he hinted that they won’t allow anti-Iranian developments in the region, one of the directions of which may be undertaken by Turkey instigating Azerbaijan,” Ali Salami said.
According to the analyst by saying third countries Dehghan also means the countries, which in case of resolution will attempt to deploy a peacekeeping mission to Karabakh, which isn’t in line with Iran’s interests either.
By Araks Martirosyan
