Iranian Ambassador: "It is not right to keep Iran aloof from Nagorno Karabakh negotiations"

"There are many questions asking why the conflict has not been settled up to now," Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Efshar Suleimani told APA in his exclusive interview.

Saying that Iran is the closest state to the conflict, the ambassador noted that his country is neighbour of the conflicting sides.

"Former American co-chair of OSCE Minsk group Steven Man said that he was against of Iran's joining peace negotiations of Nagorno Karabakh. Nobody asked to express his view point instead of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Iran does not say why it does not participate in peace negotiations. It should be considered that Iran has much opportunity. You can ask whether Iran can be represented instead of the U.S. Some people say that Armenia does not want Iran to participate in the negotiations. Armenia has political maneuvers in this case. Armenia knows that Azerbaijan does not want it. Notwithstanding the discrimination, Iran's position on Azerbaijan is evident," the ambassador said.

Expressing his attitude to destroyed Azerbaijani monuments in occupied Azerbaijani territories, Efshar Suleimani noted that Iran is ready to protect those monuments.

"Destroy of Azerbaijani monuments in Armenian territories and Nagorno Karabakh can be prevented only by the pressure of international organizations. It is not important that the monument is religious whether it belongs to pre Islam period. We always supported Azerbaijan in international organizations. But the U.S did not support Azerbaijan in the discussions held in UN. Though Azerbaijan is the member of CE, sometimes they do not support Azerbaijan in these situations. Whether they vote against, or hide. I do not want to comment the issue from religious point of view. But I know that they prefer Christianity. Neither of mediators of Nagorno Karabakh negotiations is Muslim," Suleimani noted.

The ambassador also expressed his attitude to spread information about the arrest of Azerbaijanis living in Iran.

"A week ago elections were held in Iran. Azerbaijani regions also were active in the elections. This is the indicator of political activity of the people living in those territories. Some forces tried to use the events happened in 2006 for their political goals. The information about the repression of people in Iran is not true," the ambassador stated.