YEREVAN.- Armenian people must not live either in the territory of a Soviet state, the U.S. or former Ottoman Empire, presidential candidate Raffi Hovannisian said.

During the campaign meeting in Ararat Region, Hovannisian said Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence will be recognized if he is elected a president, Armenian News-NEWS.am correspondent reported.

“We must not depend on international community and follow their moves whether they would recognize Kosovo, South Ossetia or Abkhazia,” Hovannisian noted.

He said Russia, as a co-chairing state of the OSCE Minsk Group, is mocking at Armenians by recognizing the right of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to self-determination, without doing it in relation to Karabakh.

“I know that international relations are an arena where different interests clash, but rule of law must prevail in international relationship, too,” he emphasized.

Photo by Arsen Sargsyan/NEWS.am