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Baku protests planned visit of separatist NKR leader to UK

2 July 2015 15:58 (UTC+04:00)
Baku protests planned visit of separatist NKR leader to UK

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijan has raised objections to the possible visit of the head of the separatist regime of Nagorno-Karabakh to the United Kingdom.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has summoned UK ambassador to Azerbaijan Irfan Siddiq regarding this issue.

Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov expressed strong protest by Azerbaijan over the planned visit of the head of the separatist regime of Nagorno-Karabakh Bako Sahakyan to the UK, and participation in an event organized by the Royal Institute of International Affairs, the Foreign Ministry said on July 2.

Chatham House will hold the discussions on the situation concerning Nagorno-Karabakh, regional security, and relations between different regional actors in London on July 8, local media reported.

The think-thank also invited Sahakyan as a speaker, whom Chatham House is expected to present as "the president of the de facto Nagorno-Karabakh Republic."

Following the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the separatist regime was established in Azerbaijan's occupied Nagorno-Karabakh regime.

During the meeting, Khalafov stressed that this situation contradicts with the spirit of friendly and strategic relations between Azerbaijan and the UK and is regarded as a step taken against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Siddiq, for his part, said the UK doesn’t recognize the regime in Nagorno-Karabakh and has no relations with it.

The diplomat pledged to convey the concern of the Azerbaijani side to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Moreover, under instruction from the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, the country’s embassy in the UK held a meeting at UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office on this issue and handed over the letter of protest.

In response to the letter, the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it supports Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and doesn’t recognize the regime created in Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that the position of the country remains unchanged.

Additionally, it was noted that the mentioned visit hasn’t been arranged by the government and there will be no meetings with the country’s officials during Sahakyan’s visit to London.

Earlier, the UK Embassy said the UK government has no influence over Chatham House’s decisions, nor should it, given its respect for the freedom of action of non-governmental organizations.

The UK did not recognize the legitimacy of the presidential and parliamentary elections held in occupied Nagorno-Karabakh a while ago and voiced support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a conflict that emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

Armenia has not yet implemented any of the four U.N. Security Council resolutions urging a pullout from its neighboring country's territories.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz

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