TURKEY OPPOSES LOCAL ELECTIONS IN KARABAKH
The New Anatolian, Turkey
Oct 15 2007
The Turkish Foreign Ministry declared over the weekend that the
scheduled local elections in Upper Karabakh on October 14h symbolizes
an attempt ignoring all efforts to provide a peaceful and lasting
solution.
The Ministry said in a statement, "we learnt that local elections
will be held in Upper Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which has been
occupied by Armenia, on October 14th by ignoring international law and
expectations of the international community following the so-called
presidential election on July 19th. It is evident that these elections,
which are considered parts of efforts to unilaterally legitimize
the illegal situation in Upper Karabakh, will mean violation of
international laws, decisions of the UN Security Council and principles
of the Council of Europe (COE) and the Organization of Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)."
"Holding local elections in Upper Karabakh on October 14 symbolizes
an attempt ignoring all efforts to provide a peaceful and lasting
solution and ongoing negotiations under the OSCE Minsk Process to
resolve Azerbaijan-Armenia dispute. Turkey condemns such an attempt
violating political unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of
Azerbaijan, and calls on the international community not to recognize
results of these illegal local elections," the Ministry said.