Armenian parliament rejected Nov. 12 the oppositional Heritage faction’s draft law, submitted in extraordinary manner, which stipulates recognition of independence of Azerbaijan’s separatist region of Nagorno-Karabakh, Novosti-Armenia news agency reported.
Prior to the voting on the draft law, Artak Zakarian, an MP from the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) faction said the RPA believes that the draft law is not timely, so the RPA faction will not participate in the voting.
Thus, the draft law gained 8 votes “in favor”, with one abstention. Other MPs didn’t vote.
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 four UN Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Wednesday 12 November 2014
Kufi Seydali