“OLVIA-PRESS”
PIOTR
DENISENKO: “IN NAGORNO-KARABAKH
THE
DNIESTRIAN DELEGATION WAS RECEIVED AS BROTHERS”
As
the press agency “Olvia-press” has already informed you, on August 11th,
in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic there took place the presidential elections,
where the present head of the state Arkady Gukassian had obtained persuasive
victory. Over fifty international observers from the USA, Great Britain,
France, Italy, Russia, Armenia, Abkhazia, Southern Ossetia, and Dniestria were
present at the elections. The Dniestrian delegation consisted of the DMR
Central Electoral commission chairman Piotr Denisenko, the deputy minister of
foreign affairs Vitaly Yankovski, and Grigoriopol district council chairman
Nikolay Seferyants. Besides of taking part in the elections, representatives of
our republic also had a number of meetings with the NKR authority and its
population. On arrival from the Nagorno-Karabakh, the head of the Dniestrian
delegation Piotr Denisenko told “Olvia-press” about details of that visit.
“The
chief goal of our visit was intention to be convinced that democratic
principles are in action in our non-recognized states, and that the NKR people
express its will really freely and without suppression”, the DMR CEC informed.
As Piotr Denisenko said, the Dniestrian delegation visited twenty electoral
districts, and not only in Stepanakert, but also in Karabakh provinces. And, as
he remarked, the preparation for elections and the very procedure of voting was
everywhere held “in strict conformity with the NKR Electoral Code” and
worldwide democratic principles. The international observers, among whom there
were higher-standing dignitaries from the USA and European Union, had free
access to all information concerning the elections, and to the process itself.
As Piotr
Denisenko also said, the members of the Dniestrian delegation “had a number of
fruitful meetings with the President of Nagorno-Karabakh Arkady Gukassian,
deputies of the National Assembly, members of the Government, heads of
enterprises and local administration, had detailed acquaintance with political
and social-economic situation in the NKR”. Arkady Gukassian interested in
details of situation in Dniestria, and expressed his hope for enforcing of bilateral
relations between the NKR and DMR.
During
the trip within territory of ancient Artsakh (Armenian title of
Nagorno-Karabakh – note of the translator), the Dniestrian delegation also met with inhabitants of
Karabakh villages, who as Piotr Denisenko, “expressed great interest towards
Dniestria”. “They were just surrounding us in the villages, demanding
information about republic; so we had to hold improvised press-conferences,
which sometimes had been lasting for one-two hours”, Denisenko underlined. By
his words, inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh see both the DMR and NKR
‘exclusively independent states’.
The head
of the Dniestrian delegation remarked, “I have never seen such an atmosphere of
fraternal mutual understanding and co-operation as in Nagorno-Karabakh”.
August 16th 2002