Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said that the peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan would move forward if both sides recognized each other's territorial integrity. (Source: Reuters)

According to the Iranian President's Office, during the phone call, Mr. Raisi affirmed that recognizing each other's territorial integrity is an important step towards a peace agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In addition, the Iranian leader also said that the border between the two countries should replace the "security atmosphere" with an "economic atmosphere" as soon as possible.

According to Mr. Raisi, Iran opposes any geopolitical changes or presence of Western countries in the Caucasus, because the appearance of outside forces will only give rise to new problems, not solve the problems here.

In addition, the head of Iran also emphasized that Tehran and the South Caucasus region have many similarities in history and culture, and that the Islamic country will continue to promote cooperation with this region.

Since 1988, there has been a dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the mountainous region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Following peace talks in 1994, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire, however, sporadic clashes still occur.

On September 27, 2020, a new round of armed conflict broke out along the border between the two countries. By November 9 of that year, Russia had brokered a ceasefire and the two sides agreed to negotiate a peace agreement.