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The European Azerbaijan Society welcomes OSCE Minsk Group statement on Nagorno-Karabakh â€˜electionsâ€™ â€“ but criticises one element as â€œillogical and unhelpfulâ€

20 July 2012 15:59 (UTC +04:00)

The OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, representing the United States, Russia and France â€œnoted reports about the conduct of â€˜electionsâ€™ that took place yesterday in Nagorno-Karabakhâ€, but emphasised that â€œnone of their three countries, nor any other country, recognises Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent and sovereign state.â€ This is in line with the principles of international law and the fact that the whole Nagorno-Karabakh region is an internationally recognised territory of Azerbaijan.
Leon Cook, Director of Communications, TEAS, said: â€œAs the Co-Chairs rightly point out, Nagorno-Karabakh does not exist as a legitimate sovereign entity. This being the case, it is illogical and unhelpful for the Co-Chairs to accept the need for the â€˜de facto authoritiesâ€™ to â€œtry to organise democratically the lives of their population.â€

He continued: â€œAny support â€“ no matter how tangential â€“ given to the illegal occupation of Azerbaijani soil has the effect of slowing down the glacial progress towards a negotiated settlement, and further delays the return to their homes and lands of 875,000 Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs).â€

In line with yesterdayâ€™s European Union statement by Baroness Ashton, the Co-Chairs also emphasised that the so-called â€˜presidential electionsâ€™ held yesterday â€œin no way prejudge the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh or the outcome of the ongoing negotiations to bring a peaceful settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.â€