AzerNews.

Azerbaijan has officially condemned the Los Angels City Council for recognition of the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic”.

Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Elman Abdullayev said the LA City Council’s resolution on Nagorno-Karabakh Republic has been adopted under pressure by the Armenian lobby of the city.

He went on saying that the adoption comes despite the fact that several U.S. states have already condemned Armenia’s aggressive policies towards Azerbaijan.

Armenian media reported on January 29 that the LA City Council has unanimously adopted a resolution recognizing the so-called “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” as an “independent” and “sovereign state”.

Abdullayev stressed that the resolution was adopted under political and financial pressure of the Armenian lobby on the City Council.

He said: “The position of the United States is clear. Washington does not accept Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state. It only recognizes Azerbaijan`s territorial integrity and sovereignty.”

Abdullayev said so far, various states in the U.S. have adopted 18 resolutions on the Khojaly tragedy, committed by the Armenian armed forces in early 1990s and on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in general. “Los Angeles City Council’s adoption of the resolution recognizing the separatist regime of Nagorno-Karabakh is just a pathetic attempt on the part of the Armenian lobby,” he added.

Abdullayev noted that earlier the Armenian lobby had put Highland City Council under pressure to adopt a similar resolution.

“This is absurd, because the U.S. does not recognize any “republic” called “Nagorno-Karabakh,” Abdullayev said.

The City Council of Highland in California adopted in November 2013 two proclamations, “recognizing the independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” and “establishing a sister city relationship with the city of Berdzor in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.”

Abdullayev also noted the information disseminated by the Armenian media, that Shusha and Los Angeles are twin cities, is false.

He said Shusha is not on the list of sister cities of Los Angeles, and in no other way it could be, since this settlement is occupied.

Abdullayev also said the Consulate General of Azerbaijan in Los Angeles has protested the adoption of this document.

Commenting on regular violation of ceasefire by the Armenian armed forces, Abdullayev said Armenia confuses the world community, at the same time by giving incorrect information to its citizens.

He noted however, the main reason of the all tension is that Armenia has occupied territories of Azerbaijan and Yerevan has taken an unconstructive stance.

Abdullayev stressed that without withdrawal of Armenian forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, it is impossible to move to a new stage over the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh.

He said however, Yerevan seeks to prolong the occupation of the Azerbaijani territories by all possible means.

The tensions on the contact line of Azerbaijani and Armenian troops have escalated recently. In recent days the Armenian armed forces violated ceasefire over 1000 times.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that had caused a lengthy war in the early 1990s.

The UN Security Council’s four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal have not been enforced to this day.

Peace talks, mediated by Russia, France and the US and the OSCE Minsk Group are underway on the basis of a peaceful outline -called Madrid Principle-proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs. The negotiations have been largely fruitless so far.