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Baku blacklists German MP

23 September 2014 17:54 (UTC+04:00)
Baku blacklists German MP

By Sara Rajabova

The citizens of foreign countries continue visiting Azerbaijani territories that are under Armenian occupation, despite warnings by the Azerbaijani government.

Baku has recently blacklisted a member of German Bundestag from Christian Democratic Party Manfred Grund for his illegal visit to Azerbaijan's occupied territories, acting Spokesman for Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev told local media.

Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia are considered illegal, and the individuals who pay such visits are included in Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's "black list".

Hajiyev said Grund violated Azerbaijan's and international laws by visiting the occupied territories and holding talks with representatives of the separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh without getting permission from Baku.

"The person who visits Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territories without the permission and consent of the country is automatically included in the list of 'persona non grata'. Baku repeatedly stresses that visiting the Azerbaijani territories being under occupation of the Armenian armed forces without the permission of the Azerbaijani government is contrary to international laws," Hajiyev said.

He also noted that Azerbaijan's embassy in Germany will take necessary steps in this regard.

In early September, the member of Seimas [the Lithuanian Parliament] Dalia Kuodytė visited the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, which was occupied in early 1990s.

The Foreign Ministry in 2013 released a list of 335 people declared 'persona non grata' over illegal visits to the Armenian-occupied territories. Some of these people were removed from the list after appealing to the Azerbaijani government.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats about visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling it contradictory to international laws.

Baku has stated that such visits, paid without prior notification to the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan, are illegal and damage the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war that ended with the signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. Since the war, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

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