YEREVAN. – Thursday’s free, fair, and competitive presidential elections in Nagorno-Karabakh, or Artsakh, bespeak the latter’s authorities’ and people’s allegiance to democracy and the rule of law, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian told Armenpress News Agency.

“The presence of several dozen international observers—according to whom the elections were conducted in organized fashion, transparently, [and] in keeping with international standards—in the elections is welcoming.

I do not believe any democratic country could dispute the need for and importance of forming a government by way of democratic elections.   

Naturally, the international community should be interested in having ties with the authorities elected by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, especially since this is envisioned by the mandate of holding the OSCE Minsk Conference.  

With these elections, the people of Artsakh yet again proved their determination to control their destiny through democracy,” Armenia’s FM stated.