ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has condemned the so-called presidential elections held in the territories of the Nogarno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said Pakistan considers Karabakh as the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan and any “attempt to conduct so-called elections by the illegally installed regime is legally and morally reprehensible”.
The spokesperson said such an attempt is also a grave violation of the United Nations Charter and principles of established international law.
The polls have also been condemned by Turkey, the EU, Organization of Turkic States, Ukraine and others. The Armenian military occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions in 1991.
The statement comes as Azerbaijan´s separatist Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh on Saturday elected a new president as tensions spiralled between arch-rivals Azerbaijan and Armenia over the breakaway enclave.
Lawmakers in Nagorno-Karabakh voted to elect a new separatist president on Saturday in a move that was strongly condemned by the Azerbaijani authorities.
Samvel Shakhramanyan’s election as the new president of Nagorno-Karabakh follows the resignation of Arayik Harutyunyan, who stepped down on September 1 as president of the region, which the Armenians call Artsakh.
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry denounced the election as “yet another extremely provocative step” and “a clear violation of Azerbaijan´s sovereignty and territorial integrity” and a serious blow to the efforts of normalization in the region.
The ministry emphasized that “the only way to achieve peace and stability in the region is the unconditional and complete withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces” from Nagorno-Karabakh and “the disbandment of the puppet regime.”
The European Union said it “does not recognise the constitutional and legal framework” within which the vote was held. The bloc also called on “Karabakh Armenians to consolidate around de facto leadership that is able and willing to engage in result-oriented discussions with Baku”.
Azerbaijan’s ally Turkey said it “does not recognize this illegitimate election which constitutes violation of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“This step is a flagrant violation of international law including the UN Security Council resolutions and the OSCE principles,” the foreign ministry in Ankara said in a statement.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have traded accusations of cross-border attacks in recent months. Armenia warned of the risk of a fresh conflict, saying Azerbaijan was massing troops on the countries´ shared border and near Nagorno-Karabakh.
In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered cease-fire but tensions between the two nations continue despite ongoing talks over a long-term peace agreement.
