Elections in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) are necessary for ensuring the normal life of the population, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, told a briefing on Friday, April 10.

“However, the Russian Federation does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state. Its status should be determined through political negotiations, which is what the OSCE Minsk Group is doing,” Zakharova said.

According to her, the Karabakh settlement process does not in any way depend on the March 31 vote held to elect a new President and members of parliament, TASS reports.

Artsakh’s presidential election will go to a second-round runoff. As many as 14 candidates were running for President in the country with a population of roughly 150,000 people. And now former First Minister Arayik Harutyunyan will face Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan in the runoff on April 14.