YEREVAN. May 29 (Interfax) - Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's threats to the administration of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) concerning stepping down are aimed a sabotaging the efforts to ensure peace in the South Caucasus, Stepanakert said.
"The president and the National Assembly have the initial mandate of the people of Artsakh [Armenian name for Nagorno-Karabakh], they were elected based on the democratic principles and the Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh. The president of Azerbaijan understands very well that the main source of Artsakh's identity is these state institutions, and by making such demands he de facto recognizes the legitimacy and importance of these institutions," Lusine Avanesyan, press secretary for the head of the unrecognized NKR, said in a statement.
"The Azerbaijani president's new threats to the people and statehood of Artsakh are aimed at disrupting the prospects of effectiveness of these efforts," she said.
Avanesyan said the Azerbaijani president has made "illegal demands to the elected authorities of the people of Artsakh."
The Azerbaijani president said on Sunday that representatives of the Armenian minority living in Karabakh had refused dialogue in Baku twice and there would be no third offer.
"My representative went and had the first meeting with them, after which we invited them to Baku for dialogue. They refused. After that, we invited them to Baku for the second time. They refused it as well. There will be no third invitation. Either they will come with their heads low, or the events will develop differently," Aliyev said.
They can only be amnestied if they voluntarily leave their pseudo-posts and apply for Azerbaijani citizenship, he said.
"And we will still consider it. My word is final, everyone knows that, in Azerbaijan and in the world, including in Armenia. We do what we say. None of our words hang in the air, like they say, and this word will not hang in the air. If I say an amnesty can be considered, they should use this opportunity. They have lost a lot of opportunities, and every time, like they say, we had to hit them on the head to bring them to their senses," Aliyev said.