Stepan Grigoryan: Iran is a serious stakeholder in the region

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran's willingness to act as a broker in Karabakh peace deal should not sound surprising, since the country has periodically proposed such initiatives, according to Stepan Grigoryan, Head of Analytical Centre on Globalization and Regional Cooperation. "In early 1990s, Iran was a mediator between Azerbaijan and Armenia. It is a serious regional stakeholder whose opinion cannot be ignored," he told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.



As to why the country made the proposal now, the politician said Iran cannot hold a neutral stance, seeing the attempts of linking Karabakh peace process with Armenian-Turkish rapprochement.



"Of course, OSCE Minsk Group remains the only format for settling Karabakh conflict, but that doesn't mean we should be inattentive to other initiatives and proposals," Armenian expert said.