YEREVAN (Armenpress)–Heated debates have emerged in Azerbaijan in response to a law adopted by the Russian State Duma allowing other countries and territorial units to join the Russian Federation. A senior Duma official has stated that the adoption of the law was not directed toward Nagorno Karabakh.
The Russian official said the law refers to the possibility of territorial units joining the Russian Federation–which have expressed their willingness to join Russia. He went on by saying that these units do not necessarily have a common border with Russia–but are nevertheless willing to join it. The official refrained from disclosing the names of these territorial units so that international tensions are not raised.
As regards to the Karabakh conflict–"its fate should be solved by the international community within the context of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations–but it is also known that the Karabakh conflict is of a military-political nature," he said on Russian television.