ANKARA

Parliamentary elections in the Nagorno-Karabakh region under occupation of Armenia will harm efforts towards a lasting peace, Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement Thursday.

“It has been reported that parliamentary elections will be held on May 3, 2015 in Nagorno-Karabakh region which is under occupation of Armenia for more than 20 years,” the statement said.

Such an election would mean a “violation of international law,” including the UN Security Council resolutions and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe principles, it said.

“We condemn this step, which is a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and don’t recognize these illegitimate elections. As a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, Turkey will continue to support efforts aimed at finding a fair and lasting solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” the statement added.

The invasion of the Azerbaijan territory of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia started in 1988 with minor conflicts, but evolved into a full scale war in 1992.

Since the end of the war in 1994, Armenian and Azeri delegations have held talks over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh under the supervision of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Minsk Group.

Armenia is part of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, which is a military alliance of six ex-Soviet nations, including Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Russia.

On April 8, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict did not comply with the organization’s criteria for military support.