The resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh passed by the California Senate is a shining example of political corruption, the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles said in connection with the resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh passed by the California Senate on Thursday.

"The anti-Azerbaijani resolution AJR 32 on Nagorno-Karabakh has been on the agenda of the California State Senate for some time," according to the statement. "From the very beginning, a number of serious measures were undertaken by the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles to counter the resolution. These measures included, inter alia, sending letters of protest to all senators, holding numerous meetings with them, thus explaining the biasedness and flawedness of the AJR 32, its contradiction to America`s stated foreign policy and national interests, as well as the fact that this racist resolution justified ethnic cleansing and illegal occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia."

Moreover, the Azerbaijani community of California also got mobilized and through various means harshly protested against the resolution. As a result, despite inordinate amount of effort by the Armenian lobby in California, where around 1 million Armenians reside, despite all the efforts by the two Armenian members of the California Legislature, as well as in spite of all the pressure by this ethnic lobby on senators using threats, blackmail and other means, 17 out of 40 senators refused to vote for the resolution Aug. 27, according to the statement.

At the same time, the senators who receive massive financial contributions for their election campaigns and therefore hugely depend on the Armenian lobby, voted for AJR 32, disregarding all the solid facts presented to them, according to the statement. This is a pure political corruption. It has no other name. It is also a strong indicator of a serious flaw in America`s political system that needs an urgent fixing.

It should also be stressed that this resolution is not the first resolution adopted by the California Legislature regarding Nagorno-Karabakh, according to the statement. In 1993, 1997 and 1999, three similar resolutions had been adopted by the Legislature at the behest of the Armenian lobby. However neither those resolutions, nor AJR 32 have any legal or political significance. The entire international community, including the United States and United Nations, recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan. Therefore such meaningless pieces of paper are unable to change this position.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.

As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.

Armenia has not yet implemented four U.N. Security Council resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.

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