Azernews.Az

YEREVAN – The Armenian parliament on Thursday failed to endorse a draft law to recognize the self-proclaimed republic run by ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno Karabakh region as the parliamentary majority refused to cast its votes, Armenian media reported.

Galust Saakyan, head of the ruling Republic Party’s parliamentary faction, said prior to the vote that the party’s position on the issue repeatedly stated in the past remains unchanged, noting that recognizing the "Nagorno Karabakh Republic" would be inappropriate at this point.

Only 13 lawmakers – the opposition Heritage party and ultra-nationalist Dashnaktsutyun party members - voted for the bill on recognizing the self-proclaimed republic. The draft law was not passed as no quorum was reached.

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a cease-fire in 1994, but Armenia continues to occupy Nagorno Karabakh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani districts in defiance of international law. Though the separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh declared so-called independence at the time of the Soviet collapse in 1991, this "independence" has not been recognized by the world community.