Armenia to vote on recognizing separatist enclave

Sharmazanov added that the position of the Armenian side on Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement has not changed: the conflict must be solved exclusively through peaceful means, based on the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs.

Armenia’s government has given the go-ahead for the country’s parliament to vote on recognizing the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist enclave that is officially part of neighboring Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov has met UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein in Geneva. However, the step appeared intended mainly as a warning to Azerbaijan following a sudden increase in fighting.

A parliamentary session to discuss the issue was called for May 10.

The Kremlin said on May 5 that it was monitoring the situation closely.

Baku and Yerevan have been locked in a standoff over the breakaway region for more than two decades.

War quickly broke out and Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

About 75 soldiers from both sides were killed in April, along with several civilians. At the same time, he expressed great concern over the military clashes that took place on the contact line of troops during April 2-5 this year.

Moreover, 250,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from Armenia and became refugees due to Armenia’s ethnic cleansing policy after the emergence of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict with Azerbaijan. But fears loom of a possible escalation, with Turkey strongly backing Azerbaijan and Russian Federation obliged to protect Armenia by a mutual security pact.

Recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence “could be a strategic diplomatic mistake by Armenia” and “a unsafe move”, Richard Giragosian, director of the Regional Studies Center in Yerevan, said by phone Thursday.