Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani government said on Monday it did not recognize Kosovo's declaration of independence.
"The unilateral declaration is a contradiction with international law and illegal," the Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim told a news briefing. "Proceeding from this, Azerbaijan's position is clear: it does not recognize Kosovo's independence."
Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia on Sunday. The United States and major European powers have granted recognition.
Ibrahim said the Kosovo settlement could not set a precedent for the resolution of the Armenia-Azerbaijan dispute over Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh. As confirmed by international groups, there is no similarity between the two conflicts, he said.
"If Armenia attempts to use the Kosovo settlement as an example for Garabagh talks, this will adversely affect the peace process," Ibrahim said, warning that Yerevan would face challenges if it speculated on the matter.
Armenia hopes for the application of the Kosovo model in Upper Garabagh - an Azeri region occupied by Armenian forces since a 1994 cease-fire ended separatist hostilities. Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly dismissed the claims.
Armenian Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian has told Reuters that Kosovo's independence would allegedly strengthen a bid by the self-styled Upper Garabagh republic to be recognized as "a state".
Sarkisian drew a link between the Serbian province and Upper Garabagh.
"We are getting a rather favorable position. Recognition of Kosovo's independence can be welcomed by us," said Sarkisian, front-runner in the February 19 presidential election.
"If countries recognize the independence of Kosovo and then don't recognize the independence of Upper Garabagh, we'll think of double standards," he claimed late on Saturday.
But Sarkisian said international recognition for Kosovo "does not mean ... Armenia will immediately recognize the independence of Garabagh."

'No precedent'
The United States has recognized the independence of Kosovo but made it clear that the conflict over the Serbian province was unique and differed from other disputes.
"The situation in Kosovo is a special case and does not set a precedent for other regions, including Upper Garabagh," the US embassy in Baku said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The unusual combination of factors involved in Kosovo, including a specific U.N. Security Council Resolution envisioning a status process and an extended period of transitional U.N. administration, makes the Kosovo case fundamentally different from all other existing cases. Of particular importance, the situation in Kosovo is governed by the terms of a specific resolution that was intended to help determine Kosovo's future status through a political process that contemplated the possibility of independence."
The statement said further that the United States, together with France and Russia, is a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, and in that capacity has been actively involved in mediating a solution to the Garabagh conflict for 11 years. "Our longstanding policy remains unchanged: the United States recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and supports a peaceful and negotiated solution to the conflict. At the same time, we maintain that the future status of Upper Garabagh should be determined through international negotiations."
In the wake of the latest developments in Kosovo, Washington called on all members of the international community "to avoid any public statements that could undermine the chances for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the Garabagh conflict".
"Any attempt to resolve the conflict through military force or any means other than a negotiated compromise risks undermining peace and stability throughout the Caucasus," the statement said.