Azernews.Az

Armenia has reportedly issued a protest to Georgia after the neighboring country’s foreign ministry said it does not recognize Sunday’s "municipal elections" held by ethnic Armenian separatists in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno Karabakh region.

Georgia’s ambassador in Yerevan Tengiz Sharmanashvili was summoned to Armenia’s foreign ministry on Friday and handed a protest note, ministry spokesman Tigran Balayan was quoted by Novosti Armenii news agency as saying.

In a statement, the Georgian foreign ministry said it reaffirms its commitment to the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders.

"The ministry does not recognize the illegal so-called elections to local authorities in Nagorno Karabakh," the statement said.

It added that Tbilisi welcomes the international efforts towards a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict and believes there is "no alternative to peace talks".

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.