British envoy suggests referendum in Karabakh, shocks Baku

PanARMENIAN.Net - British ambassador to Azerbaijan drew parallels between the Karabakh conflict and Scotland's intention to secede from the United Kingdom.

As Irfan Siddiq stated at the Khazar University in Baku, "what's happening in Britain is quite interesting. Some people in Scotland are unwilling to remain a part of the UK. So, under the cirsumstances, a referendum is much more preferable to hostilities. And the same should be done to determine the status of the Nagrno Karabakh."

"This seems like a logical compromise to determine the country's status," the envoy concluded, leaving the audience "perplexed."

Haqqin.az Azeri source slammed the ambassador's statement, labeling the parallel he drew between the issues in Scotland and Karabakh as "improper." "Can’t the envoy realize that the results of a referendum in mono-ethnic Karabakh are easily predictable? Doesn’t he see a difference between the two non-similar problems?” the website questioned.

A referendum on whether Scotland should be an independent country and leave the United Kingdom will take place on September 18, 2014. Following an agreement between the Scottish Government and the United Kingdom Government, the Scottish Independence Referendum Bill, setting out the arrangements for this referendum, was put forward on March 21, 2013, passed by the Scottish Parliament on November 14, 2013 and received Royal Assent on December 17, 2013. The question to be asked in the referendum will be "Should Scotland be an independent country?" as recommended by the Electoral Commission.

The principal issues in the referendum are the economic strength of Scotland, defence arrangements, continued relations with the rest of the UK, and membership of supranational organisations, particularly the European Union (EU) and NATO.