May 19, 2008 - 17:31 AMT
Azerbaijan refuses to hold talks with Karabakh
Azerbaijan refuses to hold talks with the Armenian community of Nagorno Karabakh, said a spokesman for the Azeri Foreign Ministry.

"Karabakh is not functioning in accord with the Azerbaijani legislation. This territory and other surrounding lands are occupied by Armenia, which was involved in all illegal actions against Azerbaijan. As result, some people in Nagorno Karabakh call themselves official representatives of a legal formation," Khazar Ibrahim said, adding that "talks with the Armenian community are possible only if Armenians abandon Azeri lands and conditions for peaceful coexistence of both Azeri and Armenian communities are created," Trend Azeri news agency reports.

Earlier, NKR President Bako Sahakian said that Nagorno Karabakh should hold talks immediately with Azerbaijan. "Nagorno Karabakh Republic is the main party to conflict and it has priorities like other foreign states," he said.