TURKEY OPPOSES ARMENIAN POLL IN NAGORNO KARABAKH

New Anatolian, Turkey
July 17 2007

Turkey announced its strong opposition to the proposed elections by
Armenia in occupied Nagorno Karabakh.

A foreign ministry statement said: We learned that so-called
"Presidential Election" in the Armenian occupied Nagorno Karabagh
region of Azerbaijan, is to be held on July 19, 2007, subsequent to
the "Constitutional Referendum" held in the same region in a similar
vein on December 10, 2006, in contravention to international law and
disregarding the will of the international community.

It said Turkey views the electiobn as part of the efforts to
unilaterally legitimize the unlawful situation in Nagorno Karabagh, and
says this is an explicit violation of the principles of international
law, UN Security Council Resolutions and the OSCE principles.

It said the Nagorno Karabagh conflict constitutes the most important
impediment for establishing peace, stability and cooperation in
the South Caucasus and it prevents the creation of an environment
conducive to good neighbourliness and cooperation among the countries
in the region. "At a time when the negotiations are pursued within
the OSCE Minsk Process to reach a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno
Karabagh conflict and the Azerbaijani-Armenian dispute, organizing
a "Presidential Election" in the occupied Nagorno Karabagh region
obviously constitutes an initiative that challenges the efforts geared
towards a peaceful resolution."

The statement said "with these considerations, Turkey denounces this
renewed effort of Armenia to violate Azerbaijan’s political unity,
sovereignty and territorial integrity; and will not recognize the
outcome of such illegitimate "Presidential Elections" that would have
no binding effect whatsoever under international law."