YEREVAN, September 30 (RIA Novosti) - Armenian Parliament has refused by a majority vote on Tuesday to include in the agenda of the day the discussion of the draft law, under which Yerevan could recognize the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR).
"The Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs has found inexpedient the inclusion of the bill in the agenda of the plenary session of Parliament," the speaker of the parliament, Galust Sahakyan, stated.
This bill was submitted to the parliament in October 2009. Since then, the document has been repeatedly rejected. The parliament members justify their refusal to recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh by unwillingness to harm the negotiation process for a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict. Armenian Foreign Ministry considers the address to this issue to be premature for the same reason.
As the parliament member and draft law author, Zaruhi Postanjyan, has stated at the meeting of the special commission, the issue of recognition of the NKR is still relevant, but she has agreed to postpone the discussion for another year.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh began in February 1988, after the predominantly Armenian-populated Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region announced its secession from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1991 the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was established. The Azerbaijani authorities did not recognize the decision and abolished the autonomous status of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The move triggered an armed conflict, which lasted until May 12, 1994 and led to Azerbaijan losing all control over Nagorno-Karabakh and several adjacent districts. The OSCE Minsk Group, co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France, has been trying to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict since 1992.
