Azernews.Az

YEREVAN – Armenia’s parliament is expected to vote this week on the so-called independence of the self-proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh republic operating in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, Armenian media quoted Speaker Hovik Abrahamyan as saying.

The bill was presented by the opposition Heritage party’s lawmakers. The ultra-nationalist Dashnaktsutyun party said it was too early to table the issue in parliament but pledged to vote for the draft law.

The ruling Republic Party’s representatives have said they will not support the opposition’s initiative. Galust Saakyan, the party’s chairman, said the parties included in the coalition have held consultations and are opposed to voting on the bill.

"Our only suggestion is to remove this draft law from the agenda altogether and keep it as a proposal to parliament," Saakyan said.

Azerbaijan has said the Armenian parliament’s adopting the bill would once again demonstrate to the world community Yerevan’s policy of occupying the neighboring country’s territory.

The conflict between the two former Soviet republics began in 1988 due to Armenia’s territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Following a brutal war, the two countries signed 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 in 1991, it has not been recognized by the world community.