London's position unchanged on Nagorno-Karabakh
By Sara Rajabova
Great Britain has ruled out the recognition of Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region and the so-called elections to the "self-government bodies" of the separatist regime, crested in these lands after its occupation.
The British embassy in Baku told Trend on September 8 that the UK does not recognize “Nagorno-Karabakh” as a state and, accordingly, does not recognize the legal framework for the upcoming so-called election.
The embassy commented on the upcoming so-called election in "self-government bodies" of the separatist regime in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, scheduled for September 13.
"The British government supports the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group and all sides in the activity to achieve a sustainable solution to the conflict based on the principles of refraining from the threat or using of weapons, as well as the territorial integrity and the national self-determination principle,” the embassy said.
“This position was expressed earlier during the "parliamentary election" in May and our position has not been changed,” the embassy further added.
Azerbaijan condemned the so-called "elections" evaluating it as an open violation of international law and stating that it does not have any legal weight.
Earlier, the United States and France stated that they don’t recognize “elections” in the separatist region of Azerbaijan.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. Armenia continues the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.
Peace talks brokered by mediators from Russia, France and the U.S. have produced no results so far.
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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on
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