Unacceptable to speak with ultimatum voice with Azerbaijan, says MFA

  19 January 2019    Read: 2744
  Unacceptable to speak with ultimatum voice with Azerbaijan, says MFA

Azerbaijan and Russia are equally sovereign states and speaking with an ultimatum voice with Azerbaijan is unacceptable and completely contrary to the ethical standards of diplomacy, the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on the comments of the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry in connection with the non-admission of individual Russian citizens to Azerbaijan.

"The tone of the comment of the press service of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs on this matter was absolutely adequate to the communication style of the Russian Foreign Ministry's press service in this regard. Once again, we would like to remind that in 2018 only over 880,000 citizens of the Russian Federation visited Azerbaijan, the absolute majority of whom were satisfied and expressed gratitude for hospitality," the MFA said.

"The inexplicable persistence of the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry in this matter is difficult to understand; it contradicts the basis of strategic relations between Azerbaijan and Russia. At the same time, such an approach does not in any way coincide with the will shown by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia and the work done by them for development of relations between the two states," the ministry said.

The non-admission of Russian citizens of Armenian origin to the territory of Azerbaijan was first announced by the representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, at a briefing on Jan. 11.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation is well aware that for many years Armenia has been pursuing a policy of aggression against Azerbaijan, as a result of which the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and seven adjacent administrative districts were occupied, more than one million people were subjected to ethnic cleansing and became refugees and IDPs. As a result of the Khojaly genocide committed by the Armenian armed forces on February 26, 1992, 613 civilians, including young children, women and the elderly, were brutally killed. The four resolutions of the UN Security Council adopted in 1993 (822, 853, 874 and 884) demand the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of the Armenian occupying forces from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and the return of those forcibly expelled from these territories to their native lands. The Russian Federation, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, voted for the adoption of these resolutions. However, for over 25 years, the requirements of these resolutions have not been fulfilled and the Azerbaijani lands are still under occupation," Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva had earlier said commenting on the remarks made by Maria Zakharova

Azerbaijan is known in the world as a center of multiculturalism, she said, adding that Azerbaijan, unlike Armenia, is a multinational state.

“Representatives of many nations, including Armenians, live together in peace and harmony in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Currently, more than 30,000 Azerbaijani citizens of Armenian origin live in our country. This is while Armenia is a mono-ethnic state. The efforts and activities of Azerbaijan in this sphere have always been highly appreciated by Russia in numerous bilateral meetings at the level of heads of state. While children of Armenian origin face restrictions in receiving education in Russian-language schools in Armenia, there are more than 340 Russian-language educational institutions in Azerbaijan. Such schools can be counted on the fingers in Armenia. Azerbaijan is always open to Russian citizens,” said Leyla Abdullayeva.

 

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