NATO disappoints separatist rulers in Nagorno-Karabakh
By Mushvig Mehdiyev
NATO joined the long list of international criticizers of the so-called "parliamentary elections" held in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
James Appathurai, the NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Political Affairs and Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia, expressed NATO’s official opinion in view of the "election" scam in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"NATO does not accept the results of these "elections" as affecting the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh, nor do they prejudge the outcome of the ongoing negotiations to bring a lasting and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," he said.
Backed politically and financially by Yerevan the puppet rulers in Karabakh arranged so-called "polls" on May 3, in defiance to both Azerbaijan's law and international law.
The international community showed solidarity with Azerbaijan in the light of such an aggravated violation of international law, refusing unanimously to recognize the results of the so-called "ballot".
Apphaturai reiterated NATO’s support to the OSCE Minsk Group activity, including a recent statement issued by the co-chairs on the "elections" on April 30.
"We look forward to an early continuation of the dialogue between President Ilham Aliyev and President Serzh Sargsyan in the context of the Minsk Process," he concluded.
In April 30 a statement of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs announced that they did not accept the results of these “elections” as affecting the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh, and stressed that they, in no way prejudge the final status of Nagorno-Karabakh or the outcome of the ongoing negotiations to bring a lasting and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
The co-chairs from the U.S., France and Russia also added that none of the countries they represent recognizes the Nagorno-Karabakh as a sovereign and independent state.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh was sparked after Armenian troops invaded large swathes of land in Azerbaijan in the early 1990s. Following bloody skirmishes, Armenia armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized and historical territory, and established a puppet separatist regime on the occupied lands.
The conflict has yet to be resolved since Armenia has systematically refused to abide by international calls to withdraw from the Nagorno-Karabakh and seven other adjacent regions.
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