BAKU: Azerbaijani Official: No Elections May Be Held In NK Without A

AZERBAIJANI OFFICIAL: NO ELECTIONS MAY BE HELD IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH WITHOUT AZERBAIJANI GOVERNMENT’S PERMISSION

Trend
May 18 2010
Azerbaijan

No elections may be hold in the Nagorno-Karabakh without the permission
by the Azerbaijani government and the Azerbaijani Central Election
Comsssion, Legislation and Legal Expertise Department head of the
Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Shahin Aliyev told journalists
today.

"The Nagorno-Karabakh can not hold any election, as no country
recognizes the Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent part. It is an
Azerbaijan’s territory," Aliyev said.

The Nagorno-Karabakh’s Separatist regime will hold parliamentary
elections May 23.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has expressed its protest against
this parliamentary election.

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 7 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 the peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council’s four
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.