By Esra Tekin
ISTANBUL (AA) - Azerbaijan on Saturday condemned the so-called elections held in the territories of its Karabakh region, calling it an “extremely provocative step.”
“This is a clear violation of Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, is by no means admissible and tolerable,” an Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry statement said.
The statement also said that the “provocations by Armenia” have a detrimental impact on the normalization process and hinder the efforts of international actors involved in this matter.
“Adequate understanding of the risks and threats posed by Armenia’s irresponsible and destructive behavior, and appropriate measures to persuade Armenia to refrain from such actions is required,” the statement further read.
Azerbaijan urged the international community to assess and condemn Armenia's actions against its sovereignty, take measures to prevent such actions, and denounce the illegal activities labeled as “elections”, the statement said.
Baku’s determination to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity is “equally firm and resolute,” it added.
Earlier, Türkiye also condemned the so-called elections held "under the control of illegal Armenian forces" in territories of Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region.
Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.
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 peace agreement.
Despite ongoing talks over a long-term peace agreement, tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia rose in recent months over the Lachin road, the only land route giving Armenia access to the Karabakh region, where Azerbaijan established a border checkpoint in April on the grounds of preventing the illegal transport of military arms and equipment to the region.