Baku, Azerbaijan, May 4
Trend:
NATO does not recognize "parliamentary elections" in Nagorno-Karabakh, NATO Secretary General's Special Representative for the Caucasus and Central Asia James Appathurai wrote on his "facebook" page.
"With regard to the "parliamentary elections" that took place yesterday in Nagorno-Karabakh, NATO does not accept the results of these "elections" as affecting the legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh, nor do they prejudge the outcome of the ongoing negotiations to bring a lasting and peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict", said in his statement.
According to him, NATO supports the OSCE Minsk Group, including the recent statement of the Co-Chairs on this issue.
"We look forward to an early continuation of the dialogue between President Aliyev and President Sargsyan in the context of the Minsk Process" he added.
"Parliamentary elections" were held May 3 in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, occupied by Armenia.
Earlier, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry called the elections illegal.
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.