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ARMENIAN VOTE TO RECOGNIZE KARABAKH INDEPENDENCE FAILS
Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 9 2010
Turkey
The Armenian opposition criticized the government on Thursday after
a parliamentary vote to recognize the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh as
an independent state was scuttled by the governing coalition.
"The ruling coalition is wrong to refuse to even consider in parliament
the recognition of Karabakh's independence," said Larisa Alaverdian
of the opposition Heritage party.
The vote failed because parties making up the governing coalition
abstained, leaving too few lawmakers participating to make the
vote valid.
Thirteen opposition lawmakers from the Heritage party and the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Dashnaktsutyun, voted in favor
of recognition.
Armenia gives significant financial and military support to Armenian
separatists who have controlled Karabakh since winning a war with
neighboring Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.
But it has stopped short of recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh as an
independent state, which would escalate tensions with Azerbaijan.
Tensions over Karabakh have mounted this year amid stalled negotiations
over the status of the region, with the number of deadly shootings
along the ceasefire line on the rise for months.
Edward Sharmazanov, a spokesman for the Republican Party, part of
the governing coalition, said it was not "an appropriate time" for
such a move while peace talks were continuing.
"The negotiation process on a Karabakh settlement would reach a
deadlock if the opposition's draft law was approved," he said.
Earlier this month, the Armenian President Serge Sarkisian said his
country would recognize Karabakh as independent "if Azerbaijan resorts
to military aggression" to seize back control over the territory.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly threatened to use force if peace negotiations
fail to deliver results.
From: A. Papazian
Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 9 2010
Turkey
The Armenian opposition criticized the government on Thursday after
a parliamentary vote to recognize the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh as
an independent state was scuttled by the governing coalition.
"The ruling coalition is wrong to refuse to even consider in parliament
the recognition of Karabakh's independence," said Larisa Alaverdian
of the opposition Heritage party.
The vote failed because parties making up the governing coalition
abstained, leaving too few lawmakers participating to make the
vote valid.
Thirteen opposition lawmakers from the Heritage party and the
Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Dashnaktsutyun, voted in favor
of recognition.
Armenia gives significant financial and military support to Armenian
separatists who have controlled Karabakh since winning a war with
neighboring Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.
But it has stopped short of recognizing Nagorno-Karabakh as an
independent state, which would escalate tensions with Azerbaijan.
Tensions over Karabakh have mounted this year amid stalled negotiations
over the status of the region, with the number of deadly shootings
along the ceasefire line on the rise for months.
Edward Sharmazanov, a spokesman for the Republican Party, part of
the governing coalition, said it was not "an appropriate time" for
such a move while peace talks were continuing.
"The negotiation process on a Karabakh settlement would reach a
deadlock if the opposition's draft law was approved," he said.
Earlier this month, the Armenian President Serge Sarkisian said his
country would recognize Karabakh as independent "if Azerbaijan resorts
to military aggression" to seize back control over the territory.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly threatened to use force if peace negotiations
fail to deliver results.
From: A. Papazian