The visit of Deutsche Welle correspondent Naomi Conrad to the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia is regretful and a gross violation of Azerbaijan’s laws, Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesperson for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, told on Wednesday.

He noted that Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Germany will bring the country’s position on this issue to the attention of Deutsche Welle media company.

“Such a visit to the occupied Azerbaijani territories should be organized in accordance with Azerbaijan’s laws, in particular with the rules of accreditation for representatives of foreign media,” Hajiyev reiterated.

Deutsche Welle correspondent Naomi Conrad, by illegally visiting Azerbaijan’s occupied territories, flagrantly violated Azerbaijan’s laws “On state border”, “On exit, entry and passports” and the Migration Code, the spokesperson said, adding that her name will be included in the list of ‘undesirable persons’ of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry after an investigation.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict entered its modern phase when the Armenian SRR made territorial claims against the Azerbaijani SSR in 1988.

A fierce war broke out between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. As a result of the war, Armenian armed forces occupied some 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory which includes Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent districts (Lachin, Kalbajar, Aghdam, Fuzuli, Jabrayil, Gubadli and Zangilan), and over a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced people.

The military operations finally came to an end when Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in Bishkek in 1994.

Dealing with the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the OSCE Minsk Group, which was created after the meeting of the CSCE (OSCE after the Budapest summit held in Dec.1994) Ministerial Council in Helsinki on 24 March 1992. The Group’s members include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Russia, the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belarus, Finland and Sweden.

Besides, the OSCE Minsk Group has a co-chairmanship institution, comprised of Russian, the US and French co-chairs, which began operating in 1996.

Resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884 of the UN Security Council, which were passed in short intervals in 1993, and other resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly, PACE, OSCE, OIC, and other organizations require Armenia to unconditionally withdraw its troops from Nagorno-Karabakh.

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