Unexpected: Iran and Russia 'Affected' by Nagorno-Karabakh Hostilities

Armed hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region should be resolved through diplomatic means as soon as possible before the conflict spills over to neighboring countries, Hossein Sheikholeslam, a member of Iran's Islamic Consultative Assembly, told Sputnik.

The fighting in the area erupted over the weekend, with Azerbaijan and Armenia trading blame for violating the ceasefire in place since 1994. According to unconfirmed reports, a village in northwestern Iran was shelled from Nagorno-Karabakh in the process.

"This military conflict between two our neighbors sadly has decades-long history. We need to make every diplomatic effort to halt hostilities as soon as possible. Attacks do no good to Armenia and Azerbaijan. Their neighbors, Iran and Russia, have also been affected," he noted.

Sheikholeslam called on both countries to refrain from using force to resolve the conflict. Peace talks, in his view, are the only instrument to determine the future of the region that has to deal with the threat posed by Israel, the US, Daesh and other terrorist groups, he added.

"We should not give our adversaries an opportunity to use local conflicts to spark global ones, like it happened in Syria," he warned.

The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in 1988, when the Armenian-dominated autonomous region sought to secede from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, before proclaiming independence after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. In September 2015, the conflict escalated, with the sides blaming each other for violating the truce.