Azerbaijan, Baku, July 20 / Trend M. Aliyev /
A puppet regime created by Armenia in the occupied territories and conducting the so-called "elections" is a provocation, deputy executive secretary of the Azerbaijani ruling party Mubariz Gurbanli said in an interview with the official website of the ruling "New Azerbaijan" party today.
He said that the so-called "presidential elections" in Nagorno-Karabakh are not recognized by either Azerbaijan or international organizations.
"Conducting such "elections" is an attempt to conceal the separatist regime in the occupied territories," he said. "In fact, the military and bandit regime is included in a system of the occupied territories and controlled from Yerevan. The Azerbaijani side has always stated its strong protest against this. Our position is that that Armenia must refrain from provocations."
Today Azerbaijan makes real proposals for a peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It also makes serious efforts to achieve peace, he added.
"However, the Armenian side shows the opposite position and continues provocations," he added. "Naturally, the third force's impact is felt here. The third force is interested in using Armenia as a tool in this regard."
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.