AZERBAIJANI AMBASSADOR: RUSSIAN FM HAS NOT YET RESPONDED TO AZERBAIJAN’S NOTE

Trend
Jan 19 2010
Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani Embassy in Russia has not yet received a response to
the note sent to the Russian Foreign Ministry in connection to State
Duma Deputy Speaker Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s statement on the need for
Russia’s recognition of the Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence.

The embassy is still waiting for an official response, Polad
Bulbuloglu, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia, told Trend News today.

In an interview for Latvian newspaper Neatkarigas Rita Avize,
Zhirinovsky said that "if the Nagorno-Karabakh proclaims its
independence, Russia should recognize it."

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988
when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian
armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992,
including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The
co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group – Russia, France, and the U.S. –
are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. General Assembly’s resolutions
concerning the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.