/By AzerNews/

By Mushvig Mehdiyev

As the separatist regime in Azerbaijan's Nagorno-Karabakh region held so-called "parliamentary elections", criticizing statements in view of those "poll" have come from various countries.

The Czech Republic slammed on May 4 the illegal "voting" in the occupied Azerbaijani territory.

The official statement issued by the Czech Foreign Ministry read that the so-called "parliamentary elections" took place in the Nagorno-Karabakh, occupied territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan, on May 3.

"In this context, the Czech Republic does not recognize the constitutional and legal framework within which these elections were being held. Prague believes that such unilateral acts do not contribute to the strengthening of mutual confidence and creation of a positive atmosphere for the solution of the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh," the statement said.

It added that the Czech Republic supports "peaceful solution of this conflict that shall be based on principles of the international law, including principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of internationally recognized borders".

Encouraged by the masterminds in Yerevan the separatist authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh held fictitious "parliamentary elections" in Azerbaijan's occupied lands on, which could feed the flames of escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan

Baku condemned the move severely, calling it a "provocation" undermining the peace talks attempting to solve the conflict. The international community has also come with critique addressed to the separatist Karabakh rulers' illegal "elections" campaign.

Armenia's armed invasion into Azerbaijan's legal territory resulted in a severe conflict pushing the two neighboring countries into a bitter territorial dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Armenia-backed separatists seized from Azerbaijan in a bloody war in the early 1990s.

Despite Baku's best efforts, peace in the occupied lands remains a mirage in the distance as Armenia refuses to comply with international law.

Baku proposed a Great Peace Agreement project to work jointly on the conflict's settlement. Yerevan refused of course to seize such peace opportunity, preferring instead to support the occupation.