TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY CONDEMNS THE ILLEGAL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH.

arminfo
2007-07-17 12:40:00

The The Turkish Foreign Ministry publicized a report in Ankara on 17
July condemning the illegal presidential election in the Azerbaijani
occupied territories of Nagorno-Karabakh scheduled for 19 July.

The document stated, "As it was known, after an illegal constitutional
referendum held in Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh territories occupied
by Armenia on 10 December 2006, the so- called presidential election
are planned to be held in the area on 19 July 2007." The report says
that the illegal election are considered in Ankara to be a component
of efforts and unilateral steps intended to legalize the situation
in Nagorno-Karabakh which does not correspond to the standards of
the international law, as well as to violate the decisions made by
the UN Security Council and OSCE.

The report emphasizes that during the period when talks on the
settlement of Armenian- Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are
in progress within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, holding
the so-called presidential election in occupied Azerbaijani Nagorno-
Karabakh should be viewed as a challenge to the peace process. In this
connection, the Turkish Foreign Ministry, condemning the election as
another effort to break political unity, sovereignty, and territorial
integrity of Azerbaijan, believes them to be incompetent from the
standpoint of the international law and does not recognize the results
of the election.

To recall, Turkey had broken the diplomatic relations with Armenia
more than 10 years ago and continues the republic’s blockade. It
would be difficult to expect another response from Ankara to the
forthcoming election in NKR in this situation.