Islamic group bemoans Karabakh ‘election’
An Islamic group has said it does not recognize the so-called municipal election held Sunday in the self-proclaimed republic run by ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno Karabakh region.
Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, said the OIC backs Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, adding that the "election" violates international law and therefore has no legal force.
Ihsanoglu added that his organization would continue supporting Baku’s efforts to find a peaceful solution of the long-standing dispute in line with the norms of international law.
According to the separatist regime’s "central election commission", voter turnout was 59 percent, with 93,000 people casting their ballots.
Ethnic Armenian separatists in Nagorno Karabakh, backed by Armenia, declared so-called independence in 1991, which has not been recognized by the international community. Nagorno Karabakh, along with seven surrounding Azerbaijani regions, has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since a 1994 cease-fire ended a brutal war. Peace talks, brokered by US, Russian and French mediators, have been largely fruitless so far.
Here we are to serve you with news right now. It does not cost much, but worth your attention.
Choose to support open, independent, quality journalism and subscribe on a monthly basis.
By subscribing to our online newspaper, you can have full digital access to all news, analysis, and much more.
You can also follow AzerNEWS on Twitter @AzerNewsAz or Facebook @AzerNewsNewspaper
Thank you!