Tweet
TURKEY SLAMS, ARMENIANS BACK LITHUANIAN PARLT MOVE ON NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Baltic News Service / - BNS
March 25, 2013 Monday 2:12 PM EET
VILNIUS, Mar 25, BNS - The establishment of a parliamentary
friendship group with unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh continues to
spark controversy, with the move being criticized by the Turkish
ambassador to Lithuania, supporting Azerbaijan, and backed by the
Union of Armenians in Lithuania.
"It is really regrettable because Nagorno-Karabakh is an Azerbaijani
territory under occupation. This so called Nagorno-Karabakh republic
and parliament they have have absolutely no internationally recognized
legal basis," Turkish Ambassador to Lithuania Akin Algan told BNS
on Monday.
The diplomat said Lithuanian lawmakers have the freedom of action
but called the move a bad precedent.
"But at every level, Lithuanian authorities declared that Lithuania
has an official policy, and in democracy sometimes you cannot contain
deputies. But is not a good precedent," the ambassador said.
Meanwhile the Union of Armenians in Lithuania thanked members of
the Seimas who established the friendship group which, they said,
is aimed at establishing a dialogue and not at dividing nations.
"We are not surprised at Azerbaijan's hysterical reaction to the
establishment of this group we have observed in the Lithuanian
press and Seimas blogs. But we are disappointed at some Lithuanian
politicians' rhetoric and actions which were and are aimed at closing
this group. The name of the group itself shows that it's not aimed at
dividing nations but, on the contrary, at establishing a dialogue,"
the union said in a statement.
The friendship group was established on the sidelines of an event at
the Lithuanian Seimas in February attended by the minister of foreign
affairs of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic. Azerbaijan's
ambassador to Lithuania later handed in a diplomatic note to
Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that it "can have a
negative impact on our bilateral relations."
The Community of Azerbaijanis in Lithuania slammed the establishment
of the friendship group, and the Lithuanian ambassador was summoned
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baku.
Baltic News Service / - BNS
March 25, 2013 Monday 2:12 PM EET
VILNIUS, Mar 25, BNS - The establishment of a parliamentary
friendship group with unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh continues to
spark controversy, with the move being criticized by the Turkish
ambassador to Lithuania, supporting Azerbaijan, and backed by the
Union of Armenians in Lithuania.
"It is really regrettable because Nagorno-Karabakh is an Azerbaijani
territory under occupation. This so called Nagorno-Karabakh republic
and parliament they have have absolutely no internationally recognized
legal basis," Turkish Ambassador to Lithuania Akin Algan told BNS
on Monday.
The diplomat said Lithuanian lawmakers have the freedom of action
but called the move a bad precedent.
"But at every level, Lithuanian authorities declared that Lithuania
has an official policy, and in democracy sometimes you cannot contain
deputies. But is not a good precedent," the ambassador said.
Meanwhile the Union of Armenians in Lithuania thanked members of
the Seimas who established the friendship group which, they said,
is aimed at establishing a dialogue and not at dividing nations.
"We are not surprised at Azerbaijan's hysterical reaction to the
establishment of this group we have observed in the Lithuanian
press and Seimas blogs. But we are disappointed at some Lithuanian
politicians' rhetoric and actions which were and are aimed at closing
this group. The name of the group itself shows that it's not aimed at
dividing nations but, on the contrary, at establishing a dialogue,"
the union said in a statement.
The friendship group was established on the sidelines of an event at
the Lithuanian Seimas in February attended by the minister of foreign
affairs of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh republic. Azerbaijan's
ambassador to Lithuania later handed in a diplomatic note to
Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that it "can have a
negative impact on our bilateral relations."
The Community of Azerbaijanis in Lithuania slammed the establishment
of the friendship group, and the Lithuanian ambassador was summoned
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baku.