STEPANAKERT. – Foreign Ministry of Nagorno-Karabakh issued a statement on  the referendum in Crimea.

“Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (the Artsakh Republic) considers the referendum held on March 16 in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea as yet another manifestation of realization of the right of people to self-determination,” the statement reads.

“The right of every people to choose its path of development and determine its destiny on its own through democratic expression of will, as it is enshrined in the UN Charter and a number of fundamental international documents, is a key principle of international law.

The experience of recent years, in particular the referendums envisaged in Catalonia and Scotland prove that the recognition and realization of the inalienable right of people to self-determination is the most optimal and democratic way for the peaceful settlement of this kind of issues.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic hopes that the situation following the referendum in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea will be addressed and resolved in the legal context exclusively by peaceful means.”