Iran ready to play effective role in preventing new conflict in Caucasus: president

TEHRAN, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that his country is ready to play an effective role in preventing any new conflict and geopolitical change in the Caucasus region.

Raisi made the remarks in a phone call with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during which he also expressed satisfaction with the "favorable" progress in bilateral economic cooperation and implementation of the joint agreements, according to a statement published on the website of the Iranian president's office.

The Iranian president reiterated Iran's firm opposition to any tension along and change to the region's historical borders, and voiced support for the territorial integrity of all regional states.

"We believe that the region's issues should be resolved through dialogue among regional countries and we seriously oppose the transregional states' entry into the Caucasus region," Raisi said.

He stressed that Iran is ready to play its role in helping resolve the region's issues through diplomatic talks.

On bilateral relations, Raisi said Iran is ready to further expand economic and trade relations with Armenia and accelerate the implementation of the joint agreements.

Pashinyan, for his part, hailed Iran's "effective and constructive" role in establishing, maintaining, and promoting peace, stability and security in the region.

The phone call came amid rising tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan said on Saturday that Armenian forces had fired on its soldiers overnight and that Azerbaijan army units had responded by taking "retaliatory measures." Armenia denied the incident.

The two countries have been at loggerheads over Nagorno-Karabakh since 1988. They fought a war over the region in the early 1990s, which ended with a ceasefire in 1994.

A new round of armed conflict broke out along the contact line on Sept. 27, 2020, before Russia brokered a ceasefire on Nov. 9, 2020.