Trend, Azerbaijan
May 15 2010
Official: Elections conducted by separatist regime can not be recognized
15.05.2010 17:24
Azerbaijan, Baku, May 15 / Trend K. Zarbaliyeva /
The elections, conducted by the separatist regime, can not have
official status, the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration
socio-political department head, Ali Hasanov, told media, ATV channel
reported.
May 23 separatist regime of Nagorno-Karabakh will hold the
"parliamentary elections".
"The status of Nagorno-Karabakh has not been resolved yet.
Azerbaijanis internally displaced from these areas have not returned
to their lands. The elections held there can not be officially
recognized. Their aim is to create problems for the Azerbaijani state
within the policy of separatist regime and hamper the return of
Azerbaijani population to these lands, " Hasanov said.
On Friday, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed its official
protest about holding of the "parliamentary elections" in
Nagorno-Karabakh.
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
resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the
occupied territories.