Nagorno-Karabakh has no state identity to invite the OSCE ODIHR to watch some elections. It is clear to us: we respect the international legal status quo and recognized international borders, said the Director of the OSCE ODIHR, Michael Georg Link.
He made the remarks in response to a so-called ‘representative’ of the Karabakh separatists at a discussion which took place in German Foreign Policy Society on Feb. 24, Vestnik Kavkaza reported.
With regard to the prospects of development of relations between the OSCE ODIHR and Azerbaijan after the last parliamentary elections, when the sides couldn’t agree on the number of observers, the head of the organization stated that a dialogue and constructive cooperation with the country should be provided.
“Of course we are sorry that we couldn’t observe the parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan last year. If the number of observers turns out to be smaller than our methodology requires, we cannot guarantee the correctness of our assessment of the monitoring results. However, we are open for a discussion on the issue,” he noted.
Stressing that Azerbaijan is “an especially important partner” for the OSCE ODIHR, Link stated that new joint projects will be suggested for the country. “Our cooperation will continue, notwithstanding the fact that we didn’t observe the elections last year,” the diplomat said.
Nagorno-Karabakh has no state identity to invite us to watch elections - OSCE head
25 February 2016
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