Azerbaijan, Baku, July 23 / Trend A. Taghiyeva /
The recent so-called "elections" in Nagorno-Karabakh are not legitimate and legally justified, as the Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan's inseparable part, Secretary General of the Turkic Business Council Halil Akinci told Trend today.
"Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijan's integral part," he said. "If any elections are held there, the elections of the Azerbaijani Republic will be conducted."
He also stressed that Azerbaijan's territorial integrity has been recognized by the OSCE Minsk Group, the UN and other international organizations.
Akinci said that Turkic Business Council and Turkic countries do not recognize the so-called "elections" in Nagorno-Karabakh and support Azerbaijan in its just struggle for the liberation of occupied lands.
The so-called "presidential elections" took place in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan on July 19, 2012. No world country recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as independent and sovereign state.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France and the U.S. - are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.