Ayatollah Ameli played up to Azeris, Armenian expert says

May 10, 2011 - 12:06 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - The statement by Iranian Ayatollah Seyed Hassan Ameli should be viewed as a show of respect put up for the benefit of Azerbaijanis, who, inspired by the perspective of starting an Islamic revolution in the country, are worried over any sort of Iranian-Armenian cooperation, an expert said.

As Hrant Melik-Shahnazaryan told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter, Ayatollah Ameli decided to play up to Azerbaijanis to refute accusations of ‘betrayal of Islamic values’.

“During Karabakh war, Iran provided Armenia's food safety. No military cooperation was discussed at the time. However, last autumn Azerbaijan requested Iran for a pass-through for a quick march to Fizuli, Jebrail and Zangelan and was refused point-blank,” the expert stressed.

Recently, Iranian Ayatollah Seyed Hassan Ameli stated that Iran supplied weapons to Azeri troops who experienced armament shortage while fighting in battles for Shushi.

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan

The conflict between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan broke out as result of the ethnic cleansing launched by the Azeri authorities in the final years of the Soviet Union. The Karabakh War was fought from 1991 (when the Nagorno Karabakh Republic was proclaimed) to 1994 (when a ceasefire was sealed by Armenia, NKR and Azerbaijan). Most of Nagorno Karabakh and a security zone consisting of 7 regions are now under control of NKR defense army. Armenia and Azerbaijan are holding peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group up till now.