Uzbekistan does not recognize the elections in the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic that took place on September 9, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
“Uzbekistan strongly supports the friendly Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, condemns any interference in its internal affairs and does not recognize the so-called presidential elections in Karabakh,” the statement said.
The parliament of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) at a special meeting on September 9 elected a new president, 45-year-old Samvel Shahramanyan. “23 MPs took part in the closed voting, of which 22 voted for Shahramanyan’s candidacy, one voted against,” Interfax reported. Shahramanyan was the only candidate for the post of President of the NKR.
On September 1, the president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Arayik Harutyunyan, filed a request of resignation to parliament.
The legitimacy of the elections was also not recognized in the European Union. “Over the holding of the so-called “presidential elections” in Khankendi/Stepanakert on September 9, 2023, the European Union reiterate that it did not recognize the constitutional and legal framework within which they were held,” the communiqué says.
While, the EU believes that “it was important for the Armenians of Karabakh to consolidate around a de facto leadership capable and willing to conduct result-oriented discussions with Baku.” Brussels assured of its readiness to “support this process.”
However the same Foreign Ministry did not issue any statement whatsoever condemning the holding of local and regional municipal “elections” in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol and in parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions of Ukraine.
