Co-chairs: "Referendum which is not internationally recognized will have no negative effect on negotiations"

The statement says:
"The authorities of Nagorno Karabakh held a referendum on December 10 on a draft "constitution" of the so-called "Nagorno Karabakh republic", which no member of the international community - including the co-chair countries - recognizes as an independent state. The co-chairs do not believe that such a "referendum" will contribute to a negotiated settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. Any future legal status of Nagorno Karabakh should be determined without the threat or use of force and only as the result of political negotiations between all parties in the framework of the Minsk Group. Conducting such a referendum now is particularly unhelpful at a moment when the OSCE Minsk group-mediated negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan appear to be on a constructive path. The results of this referendum, which are not internationally recognized, will have no negative effect on continuing prospects for an agreement between the sides on basic principles for the settlement of the conflict."

/APA/