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Russian deputy: "So-called ”elections” held by separatist regime are not only senseless, but also dangerous"

03 April 2020 13:22 (UTC +04:00)

“The “elections” held in Nagorno Garabagh are not only senseless in political terms, but also dangerous on the backdrop of the pandemic", said in a statement Dmitri Savelyev, deputy from the Liberal Democrats faction of the Russian State Duma (the lower chamber of the Russian Parliament), head of Russia-Azerbaijan Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Group, APA’s Moscow bureau reports.

"In the intensive phase of the coronavirus pandemic, the pseudo republic in Nagorno Garabagh holds “presidential and parliamentary elections”. Remind that this separatist formation hasn’t received an independent state status at the global level, and as is well known, will never receive such a status. The European Union and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have declared that all such measures don’t have legal force, while the UN member states namely the United Kingdom, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Ukraine, Georgia and Estonia condemned the decision to hold the election. Whatever the result of the so-called “elections” in Nagorno Garabagh is going to be, it will be senseless, and neither international organizations nor the world community recognize outcomes of these elections”, the Russian deputy said.

And the main danger of illegitimate elections is different: "Fictitious elections are held at a time when the whole world is fighting a coronavirus pandemic, which can cause a surge in infection and its spread,” said Dmitry Savelyev.

"The election organizers claim that no cases of COVID-19 infection were reported in Nagorno-Karabakh, but it is worth doubting: the pseudo-republic is very closely integrated with Armenia, in which several hundred people are infected with the coronavirus, in addition, it borders with Iran, which occupies today one from the leading places in the incidence of this infection. Plus - according to the detachment of members of the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh, concealment of cases of coronavirus infection from the population is not excluded, since the pseudo-republic lacks medical staff, there are no tests for determining COVID-19, and the healthcare system is experiencing serious problems. It is terrible to imagine what will happen if the inhabitants of this territory, having passports of citizens of Armenia, in the near future will be able to freely move around neighboring regions and the world as a whole," he said.

The Russian parliamentarian expressed confidence that the risks of a new outbreak would be nullified if the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven districts were lifted. “The number of people infected in the republic is much smaller than in Armenia, and the authorities are taking unprecedented measures to minimize people’s contacts with each other, up to the suspension of the Baku Metro. I believe that the state of Azerbaijani health care and quarantine introduced in the country can significantly reduce the rate of infection with the infection - up to its complete eradication,” said Dmitry Savelyev.