MOSCOW, (AFP) - Russia said Wednesday it had no plans to recognize the legitimacy of planned "presidential" election in Azerbaijan's predominantly Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"We would like to underline that Moscow supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," the foreign ministry said in a statement ahead of Sunday's planned elections in the separatist enclave. "As is well known, we do not recognize Nagorno Karabakh as an independent state," the statement said.
"We think that its future status should be decided without the use of force, through political talks between all of the involved parties."
On Tuesday, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan decided to hold bilateral talks on the issue for the first time in more than a year, on August 14. Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Azeri counterpart Heydar Aliev are due to meet on the border between Armenia and the Azeri territory of Nakhichevan.
"We would like to underline that Moscow supports the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," the foreign ministry said in a statement ahead of Sunday's planned elections in the separatist enclave. "As is well known, we do not recognize Nagorno Karabakh as an independent state," the statement said.
"We think that its future status should be decided without the use of force, through political talks between all of the involved parties."
On Tuesday, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan decided to hold bilateral talks on the issue for the first time in more than a year, on August 14. Armenian President Robert Kocharian and his Azeri counterpart Heydar Aliev are due to meet on the border between Armenia and the Azeri territory of Nakhichevan.