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Text of report by Azerbaijani radio station ANS on 26 February The US embassy in Azerbaijan has issued a statement on the third presidential elections to be held in the self-styled Nagornyy Karabakh Republic [in August 2002]. Supporting the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, the US administration has stated that it does not recognize Nagornyy Karabakh as an independent republic. Noting that Karabakh's future status depends on the OSCE Minsk Group's negotiating process, the USA at the same time says that the elections will not influence the peace process in any way. As mediators, our task is to find a peaceful settlement for the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict in conjunction with the other [OSCE Minsk Group] cochairmen. For this reason, the USA continues negotiating with the conflicting sides. The US embassy's public affairs attache, James Seward, forwarded the statement to ANS. Source: ANS Radio, Baku, in Azeri 1600 gmt 26 Feb 02 /BBC Monitoring/ © BBC. |
