Why Iran's Peace Plan Was Overlooked: Sergey Lavrov Explains the Current Situation

The choice of format for resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should have been made by Armenia and Azerbaijan, which also determined the composition of the participants in the statement and why Iran's plan was not given attention, stated Sergey Lavrov, the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“Currently, we should not think about who did or did not manage to assist the resolution. I must emphasize once again that the format should have been chosen by Azerbaijan and Armenia. This was the reason for the composition of the participants in the statement. And there has not been any attempt to do this at the expense of Iran or Turkey. Now it is important to think about how to finalize all agreements and transform the confrontation region into a community, hopefully a region of friendship and cooperation,” said the Russian minister in an interview with Iranian state television while responding to the question of why Iran's peaceful plan was overlooked.

“In the case of Nagorno-Karabakh, our guiding principle was the desire to end the bloodshed. The conflicting parties - Armenia and Azerbaijan - have shown interest in doing this with the mediation of Russia. There is no ulterior motive here. Moreover, I do not recall any interest arising regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh topic during my years of communication with my Iranian counterparts as Foreign Minister, nor was there any reference to this in our consultations or negotiations,” Lavrov added.

He noted that Iran's concerns are understandable, as the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia will affect Iran's transit interests, especially as these interests are intensified in the current situation when Americans continue to ramp up sanctions against Iran.

“It is impossible to disregard that principle which had received approval from all sides for many years. The result of the conflict should be the normalization of relations across the entire region. The joint statement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia on November 9 clearly outlines the main directions, which were also present in the Iranian initiative that arose during the hot phase of the conflict,” clarified the head of the Russian Foreign Ministry.