Azerbaijan, Baku, June 12 / Trend K.Zarbaliyeva /
A visit to Azerbaijan's territory without the country's permission can not be a reason for pride to MPs, Azerbaijani Parliamentary Deputy Speaker Bahar Muradova said today. Muradova commented on the French deputies' participation as observers in the illegal "elections" held in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenians.
"The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's position in this regard is well known. A visit to the Azerbaijani territory without taking into account the laws and the country's territorial integrity does not comply with the rules of either the French or the Russian parliament. All, including MPs, are agreed with the foreign ministry's position," Muradova said.
She said MPs approving the laws in their countries are obliged to respect the laws of other states.
The French parliamentarians should be declared 'persona non grata', to the rest to learn from this, Muradova said.
Separatist regime of the Nagorno-Karabakh held the "parliamentary elections" May 23.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry expressed a formal protest in connection with the "elections" in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh.
"The holding of such elections is a flagrant violation of relevant provisions of the Azerbaijani Constitution and the norms and principles of international law, as they are conducted without indigenous Azerbaijani population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Thus they do not have any legal force," the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 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 the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh region and the occupied territories.
Do you have any feedback? Contact our journalist at [email protected]