Baku: The international community welcomed a deal recently signed between Azerbaijan and Armenia to end the ongoing conflict over the Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.
Britain welcomed the “agreement by Azerbaijan & Armenia to end the #NagornoKarabakh conflict,” Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab wrote on Twitter Tuesday.
“They have made difficult decisions to prevent further loss of life,” Raab said. “We encourage all sides to continue working together for a lasting peace settlement in the interests of their citizens.” Iran also welcomed the peace deal between Azerbaijan and Armenia that ended six weeks of fighting in Karabakh.
Mahmoud Vaezi, chief of staff of the presidential office, tweeted that Iran believes the current crisis between Baku and Yerevan can be resolved politically through dialogue and in a manner that protects the rights of the peoples and borders of the two countries. He expressed his hope that the cease-fire would sustain in the region, which is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani.
Pakistan on Tuesday congratulated Azerbaijan on the liberation of its territories from Armenian occupation. “We congratulate the government and brotherly people of Azerbaijan on the liberation of their territories,” said a Foreign Ministry statement. The ministry expressed hope that this will lead to an era of “stability and prosperity” in the region and “will pave way for the return of internally displaced persons to their ancestral lands.”
“Pakistan has consistently supported the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh dispute in accordance with international law and the relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions,” it went on to say. The trilateral agreement facilitated by Russia, the statement further said, offers a “renewed” opportunity for establishing peace in the South Caucasus region. While the U.N. chief Antonio Guterres’ spokesperson Stephane Dujarric had said “the secretary-general is relieved that the deal has been agreed to a cessation of hostilities. We are very grateful to the Russian authorities for what they have done. The sense of relief is really about the hope that this will end the suffering of civilians.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. State Department said Washington was “happy to see an end to the violence” but “will be interested in learning more about the details and plans for implementation of this new arrangement.”
The French media, however, said the Nagorno-Karabakh issue constituted yet another failure for pro-Armenian, anti-Turkish France following failures in Syria and Libya. –Agencies
