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Nagorno-Karabakh To Hold Presidential Election

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  • Nagorno-Karabakh To Hold Presidential Election

    NAGORNO-KARABAKH TO HOLD PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

    BBC
    19 July 2012 Last updated at 04:38

    The conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in the early 1990s is thought to
    have claimed up to 30,000 lives Continue reading the main story

    Voters in the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh are due to go
    to polls on Thursday to elect a new president.

    Almost 100,000 voters will choose from among four candidates for
    the post.

    Populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, the territory declared
    independence from Azerbaijan after the breakup of the Soviet Union
    in 1991, sparking a conflict in which thousands died.

    Azerbaijan has described the poll as a "provocation", and there are
    fears of a return to full-scale conflict.

    "We have every reason to say to the world that we hold
    elections strictly in accordance with the law," Vasily Atajanian,
    Nagorno-Karabakh's acting foreign minister told the Reuters news
    agency,

    "We can say that there is no difference between us and democratic
    Europe," Mr Atajanian added.

    Arms race

    However, EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton expressed concern
    over the poll.

    "I would like to reiterate that the European Union does not recognise
    the constitutional and legal framework in which [the vote] will be
    held," Baroness Ashton said in a statement.

    "These 'elections' should not prejudice the determination of the
    future status of Nagorno-Karabakh in the negotiated general framework
    of the peaceful settlement of the conflict," she added.

    A ceasefire was agreed between the two sides in 1994, but in recent
    months tension has been rising.

    At the beginning of June, at least nine soldiers were shot dead
    by snipers.

    Both sides are engaged in an arms race, investing in more sophisticated
    weaponry, the BBC's Damien McGuinness reports from the region.

    Any return to a full-blown conflict would therefore have even more
    devastating consequences this time round, particularly if regional
    allies such as Russia or Turkey were dragged into the dispute, our
    correspondent adds.




    From: A. Papazian
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