Friday, September 13 2019 15:35

ArmInfo.  Artsakh has  gained serious experience in holding democratic elections, and is  even ready to share it. Anna Naghdalyan, spokeswoman for the Armenian  Foreign Ministry, said this at a press conference in Yerevan on  September 13, answering a question about statements by third  countries, in particular Ukraine and Georgia, in connection with the  recent local elections in Artsakh.

At the same time, she recalled that the Republic of Artsakh has been  conducting elections to local governments, presidential and  parliamentary elections since 1991. "All the elections demonstrated a  high level of commitment to democratic values and standards, which  observers confirm. Artsakh has accumulated good experience in  conducting democratic elections. If necessary, Artsakh can share its  experience," the representative of the Armenian Foreign Ministry  said, recalling that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs also spoke with a  statement recognizing the right of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh  to decide on their future.

Naghdalyan once again emphasized that the principled position of  Armenia is that the exercise of rights cannot be determined by the  status of the place of residence, and the non-recognition of these  rights does not limit their exercise and puts the parties that make  such statements in an embarrasing position.  Touching upon  information about Azerbaijan's intention to blacklist French  parliamentarians who visited Artsakh this week, Naghdalyan noted that  Azerbaijan's attempts to deny the rights of the people of Artsakh are  a continuation of the dehumanization and extermination policy.

It should be noted that on September 8 local elections in 228  communities of Artsakh were held. A little over 67 thousand people or  65.6% took part in the elections. Statements were made in Ukraine and  Georgia, stressing that they did not recognize these elections and  supported the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. It is noteworthy  that at one time Azerbaijan made a similar statement during the  electoral processes in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.