Azernews.Az

The visit by a member of the Australian state of New South Wales’ Senate to the Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani territories does not reflect Australia’s official stance, the Australian embassy in Turkey has said.

In reply to a protest note sent to the Australian diplomatic mission by the Azerbaijani embassy in Turkey over MP Walt Secord’s unauthorized visit to Nagorno Karabakh paid last December, the government of Australia said the country fully supports Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and does not recognize the "independence" of Nagorno Karabakh.

"Walt Secord is not a member of the Australian government and federal parliament and his visit does not reflect Australia’s official position," the Australian embassy said.

Armenian media reported that Secord has held meetings with the separatist leaders in Nagorno Karabakh. The Azerbaijani embassy in Turkey held a meeting with representatives of the Australian embassy to express its objection to the move.

Nagorno Karabakh has been occupied by Armenian armed forces since a 1994 cease-fire ended a war that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted up to one million Azerbaijanis from their homes. The separatist regime in Nagorno Karabakh declared so-called independence at the time of the Soviet collapse in 1991, but it has not been recognized by the world community.

This story is published by AzerNEWS Weekly under a project funded by the Foundation for State Assistance to the Development of the Media under the President of the Azerbaijan Republic.