Khamenei: "Yerevan must return lands", Baku must ensure Armenians' safety

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has weighed in on the Nagorno-Karabakkh conflict, maintaining that the Armenian side "must return the occupied territories" to Azerbaijan while the latter must ensure the security of Armenians living in the area, ISNA News Agency reports.

"A war is taking place between our two neighbors, Azerbaijan and Armenia, which is a bitter incident and is not good for our security and the region. This war must end," Khamenei said Tuesday, November 3.

"One of the main conditions for this is the return of all the occupied territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia. International borders must be respected. Of course, the security and peace of the Armenians living in these areas must also be maintained."

Iran earlier unveiled a plan for the settlement of the conflict, maintaining that the OSCE Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by Russia, the U.S. and France, should be replaced by the Russia-Iran-Turkey trio.

Azerbaijan, with help from Turkey and terrorist mercenaries deployed by Ankara, started a war against Karabakh (Artsakh) in the morning of September 27. The Armenian side has reported deaths and injuries both among the civilian population and the military. Foreign and local journalists too have been injured in Azeri shelling of towns and villages.