UK doesn't recognize so-called "elections" in Karabakh
By Akbar Mammadov
The UK does not recognise the presidential "elections" in Nagorno-Karabakh, the second round of which is taking place on 14 April, the British Embassy in Azerbaijan said in a statement published in its official Facebook page on April 14.
"The UK again underlines its support for the OSCE Minsk Group and the Co-chairs’ role in the peace process. We support the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence of Azerbaijan, while underlining the importance of universally recognised principles and norms of international law", the statement reads.
"We encourage Azerbaijan and Armenia to accelerate efforts to build confidence and achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict," the British Embassy said.
It should be noted that a number of countries, including France, Germany, Turkey, UK, Canada, Australia, Norway, Pakistan, Latvia, Ukraine, Georgia, Estonia, as well as major international organizations such as the EU, NATO, OSCE, OIC, GUAM, Visegrad Group, TURKPA have recently reiterated their support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and condemned the illegal elections held in in Karabakh on March 31.
Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.
The OSCE Minsk Group co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France has been mediating the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict since the signing of the volatile cease-fire agreement in 1994. The Minsk Group’s efforts have resulted in no progress and to this date, Armenia has failed to abide by the UN Security Council resolutions (822, 853, 874 and 884) that demand the withdrawal of Armenian military forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
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Akbar Mammadov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AkbarMammadov97
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