Azernews.Az

The so-called ``parliamentary elections`` were held on Sunday by the Armenia-backed separatist regime in Azerbaijan`s occupied Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh region, sparking a strongly-worded response from Baku and widespread international condemnation.
The region, which has been a source of conflict between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan since the late 1980s, elected its 33-seat ``parliament`` in a vote contested by four political parties.
According to the separatists, 113 international and 22 local observers had been registered to monitor the ``elections``. The ``observers`` included citizens of Russia, Armenia, France, Argentine, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Germany, Iran, the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, Georgia (the unrecognized republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia), Slovakia and Moldova (Dnestr).
Backed by Armenia, ethnic Armenian separatists seized control of Upper Garabagh from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s in a war that left some 30,000 dead. Armenian forces continue to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven other Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Peace talks have not yet resulted in resolving the conflict.
The so-called election held in the self-proclaimed republic has not been recognized by any international organization or country. In the past few days many influential international groups and the world`s leading powers, including the U.S. and Russia, have affirmed that they reject the separatist vote.
Azerbaijan`s Foreign Ministry and Central Election Commission (CEC) have issued statements condemning the ``elections``. Prior to the vote, Azerbaijan warned observers against monitoring the poll.
``Upper Garabagh is Azerbaijan`s territory and anyone visiting it without permission from the Azeri side will be declared persona non grata and will not be able to visit Azerbaijan,`` Foreign Ministry spokesman Elkhan Polukhov said.
The Foreign Ministry on Monday expressed concern about negative effect on the ongoing peace process by the illegal ``parliament elections``.
It said another attempt by Armenia ``to camouflage its annexation policy and occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan ended with a complete and unavoidable failure.``
The ministry said Azerbaijan once again urges Yerevan to cease its destructive policies ``and instead of wasting the precious time to negotiate in good faith`` with a view to finding a soonest and durable solution to the conflict, based on international law.
The election commission labeled the election as illegal, saying it violates Azerbaijan`s Constitution as well as international law. It added that holding elections and referendums on the territory of Azerbaijan is the exclusive prerogative of the country`s CEC.
The United Nations has said it does not recognize the outcome of the ``elections`` that have no legal effect whatsoever, affirming that Upper Garabagh is an integral part of Azerbaijan, according to a letter sent on Monday by its Secretary-General to the Azerbaijani representation at the UN.
The European Union`s foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, warned prior to the election that the planned parliamentary elections in the enclave of Upper Garabagh would not be legal.
Ashton said in a statement that the vote ``should not prejudice the peaceful settlement of the Upper Garabagh conflict`` and urged all parties to redouble efforts to find a negotiated solution to the long-standing conflict.
The United States has also said it does not recognize the so-called elections.
``No country in the world, including the United States, recognizes the so-called Upper Garabagh Republic or the so-called `parliament elections`,`` a State Department official told Azerbaijan`s state-run AzerTAj news agency.
Russia affirmed its support for Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity after the Garabagh ``polls``, Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported.
``Moscow is not convinced that the peace settlement of the conflict might depend on the results of the Nagorno Garabagh elections,`` a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Andrei Nesterenko, said.
``Moscow supports the principle of Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity, as well as other fundamental norms and principles of international law. As you know, we don`t recognize Nagorno Garabagh as an independent state,`` he said.
The conflict is mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group, comprising the United States, Russia and France.
``We are convinced that the future status [of Nagorno Garabagh] should be defined without the use of force, as a result of political negotiations between all parties within the framework of the Minsk process,`` Nesterenko said.
The OSCE mediators also issued a statement on the ``elections``.
``Although the co-chairs understand the need for the de facto authorities in Upper Garabagh to try to organize democratically the public life of their population with such a procedure, they underscore again that Nagorno Garabagh is not recognized as an independent and sovereign state by any of their three countries, nor by any other country, including Armenia,`` the Minsk Group co-chairs - Bernard Fassier of France, Robert Bradtke of the United States and Igor Popov of Russia - said Monday.
The co-chairs consider that ``this procedure should not preempt`` the determination of the final legal status of Upper Garabagh in the broader framework of the peaceful settlement of the long-standing conflict.*