US Ambassador Refutes Information that Official Observers from the USA Will Participate in the so-called ‘presidential elections’ in Nagorno-Karabakh (video)
Azerbaijan, Baku /corr. Trend K.Ramazanova / The U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Anne E. Derse, refutes the information that official observers from the USA will participate in so-called 'presidential elections' in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region occupied by Armenia. "We do not recognize the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh republic" and therefore, we do not recognize elections in Nagorno-Karabkh," the Ambassador said on 19 July in Baku.
Currently media sources spread information that 275 polling stations are functioning in Nagorno-Karabakh and one more has been opened in Yerevan, where a permanent representation of the separatist regime functions. The elections will be observed by observers from Russia, USA, Armenia and other unrecognized republics 'Abkhazia, South Osetia and Pridnestrov'.
The Head of the Office of Public Affairs of the U.S. Embassy in Azerbaijan, Jonathan Henick, does not exclude the participation of Armenians as observers in the election, but he said that they are not official US representatives.
On 19 July the so-called 'presidential elections' is taking place in Nagorno-Karabakh. The first 'president' of the self-declared republic in 1994 was Robert Kocharyan, current President of Armenia. In 1997 Kocharyan was replaced by Arkadi Kukasyan who held this position as a result of the 2002 elections.
The conflict between the two countries of South Caucasus appeared in 1988 due to territorial claims of Armenia against Azerbaijan. Armenia has occupied 20% of the Azerbaijani lands including Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven Districts of the country surrounding it. Since 1992 to the present time, these territories have been under the occupation of the Armenian Forces. In 1994, Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a cease-fire agreement at which time the active hostilities ended. The Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group ( Russia, France and USA) is holding peaceful negotiations.
