Reuters
Feb 18 2008

Azerbaijan says not recognizing Kosovo independence

Mon Feb 18, 2008 7:00am EST
BAKU (Reuters) – Ex-Soviet Azerbaijan said on Monday it did not
recognize Kosovo’s declaration of independence.

"We view this illegal act as being in contradiction with
international law," said Khazar Ibrahim, head of the press service at
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry.

"Proceeding from this, Azerbaijan’s position is clear: it does not
recognize (Kosovo’s) independence."

Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on Sunday. The United
States and most members of the European Union are expected to grant
recognition soon.

Azerbaijan has been trying to restore control over its breakaway
region of Nagorno-Karabakh, where ethnic Armenian separatists threw
off Azeri rule in a war in the 1990s that killed about 35,000 people.

The separatists’ foreign minister said on Sunday Kosovo’s
independence would help Nagorno-Karabakh’s drive for international
recognition.

Azerbaijan has 34 troops serving in the NATO-led Kosovo peacekeeping
force KFOR.

(Reporting by Lada Yevgrashina; Additional reporting by Matt Robinson
in Pristina; Writing by Christian Lowe)

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress