Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 16
By Anakhanum Hidayatova – Trend:
Armenia’s holding a "referendum" in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, which it holds under occupation, is a step away from possible agreement on a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, Sergey Markov, co-chair of the National Strategic Council of Russia, political scientist, told Trend.
He made the remarks commenting on the “referendum” on making changes to the illegal regime’s “constitution”, scheduled for Feb. 20.
Markov added that this is also a sign of reluctance of the Armenian side to negotiate.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry has earlier said the illegal “referendum”, planned to be held in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, is a clear violation of the country’s constitution, as well as norms and principles of international law and, therefore, has no legal effect.
Armenia’s attempts to change the name of Nagorno-Karabakh region, an integral part of Azerbaijan, is yet another clear manifestation of the fact that Armenia is not interested in seeking a political settlement of the conflict, said the ministry.
“I do not think the upcoming "referendum" will be welcomed by the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group,” Markov said.
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 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.