Municipality Elections In Upper Karabakh

FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN TAN SAYS TURKEY CONSIDERS ELECTIONS AS ILLEGAL

ANKARA - Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan said on Tuesday that Turkey considered municipality elections to be held in Upper Karabakh in August as illegal.
Tan, in a written statement, said that such kind of unilateral initiatives would not contribute to efforts to find a peaceful solution to the problem.
Tan said Upper Karabakh problem was nowadays one of the main elements of instability in Southern Caucasia, and also continued to be an obstacle in front of good neighborhood relations and cooperation in the region and integration of the region with the international community.
Tan said, ''it is obvious that municipality elections, scheduled to be held in August in Upper Karabakh, mean violation of basic rules of international law and the charters of UN, COE and OSCE.
Tan said ''Turkey supported a solution within the scope of Azerbaijan's territorial integrity and through peaceful means; and many times, expressed its readiness to contribute to the efforts to find a solution''.
(AY-ULG) 03.08.2004