BAKU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik – 25th November, 2018) The fact that the leader of the breakaway Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was authorized to enter Russia does damage to the negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict peaceful settlement, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Bako Sahakyan, the leader of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, arrived on a working visit to Moscow on Saturday.
"According to an Armenian media report, the 'head' of the self-proclaimed regime created on the occupied Azerbaijani territories has made a visit to the Russian Federation. The fact that a representative of an illegal separatist regime was authorized to enter the territory of the Russian Federation does damage to the efforts on Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement via dialogue, while it also contradicts the mediator obligations that Russia has as a co-chair of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's [OSCE] Minsk Group," the statement, released on the night into Sunday, read.
The ministry went on to say that Sahakyan's "voayges" to Minsk Group co-chairing states could lead to an "unpredictable" development.
"In this case, the whole responsibility will fall on the Armenian side," the statement added.
Earlier in the month, Sahakyan held an official visit to France, with prompted the Azerbaijani Embassy in France to send a note of protest to the French Foreign Ministry.
Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azerbaijani region with predominantly Armenian population, proclaimed its independence in 1991, prompting a military conflict, which still remains unsettled. In early April 2016, tensions between Azerbaijani and Nagorno-Karabakh forces escalated, resulting in multiple casualties. Sporadic clashes continue even though the sides promptly agreed to a ceasefire.
The OSCE has been mediating talks on the status of the region since 1992.
