Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 12
By Elmira Tariverdiyeva - Trend:
"Elections" planned for Sept. 13 in the separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan cannot have any effect on the ongoing peace process, nor on the region's legal status, James Larsen, Australia's ambassador to Azerbaijan with a residence in Ankara, said on Twitter.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Edited by SI