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Agence France Presse
December 9, 2010 Thursday 11:50 AM GMT
Armenian vote to recognise Karabakh independence fails
YEREVAN, Dec 9 2010
The Armenian opposition criticised the government on Thursday after a
parliamentary vote to recognise disputed Nagorny Karabakh as an
independent state was scuppered by the governing coalition.
"The ruling coalition is wrong to refuse to even consider in
parliament the recognition of Karabakh's independence," said Larisa
Alaverdyan 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 favour of
recognition.
Armenia gives significant financial and military support to the ethnic
Armenian separatists who have controlled Karabakh since winning a war
with neighbouring Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.
But it has stopped short of recognising Nagorny 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.
Eduard 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 Serzh Sarkisian said his
country would recognise 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
December 9, 2010 Thursday 11:50 AM GMT
Armenian vote to recognise Karabakh independence fails
YEREVAN, Dec 9 2010
The Armenian opposition criticised the government on Thursday after a
parliamentary vote to recognise disputed Nagorny Karabakh as an
independent state was scuppered by the governing coalition.
"The ruling coalition is wrong to refuse to even consider in
parliament the recognition of Karabakh's independence," said Larisa
Alaverdyan 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 favour of
recognition.
Armenia gives significant financial and military support to the ethnic
Armenian separatists who have controlled Karabakh since winning a war
with neighbouring Azerbaijan in the early 1990s.
But it has stopped short of recognising Nagorny 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.
Eduard 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 Serzh Sarkisian said his
country would recognise 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