Iranian, Azeri Top Diplomats Discuss Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday discussed with Azerbaijan's Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh during the meeting in the Iranian city of Ramsar, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Ramsar on April 5-6 hosts a trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. The meeting is expected to focus on trilateral cooperation in the fields of economy, trade and the fight against terrorism.

Azerbaijan and Armenia reported intensified fighting in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region on April 2 with the sides accusing each other of violating the ceasefire agreement which had been in place since 1994. According to Tasnim news agency, earlier on Tuesday, Zarif had a telephone conversation with Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandyan, during which the Iranian top leader offered to mediate between the two countries.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), at least 33 people were killed and more than 200 injured as a result of the violence escalation.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict 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 breaching the truce.