Azernews.Az

By Gunay Camal

Most of foreign nationals, who illegally visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and thus violated the international norms, are representatives of media outlets.

The names of 529 individuals from 50 countries who had visited Azerbaijan’s territories occupied by Armenia, without Baku’s permission are included in the Foreign Ministry’s “black list”. Of them 160 are representatives of media outlets, DailyKarabakh website reported.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly one million were displaced as a result of the war. Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions are temporarily out of the control of Azerbaijan as a result of Armenia’s aggression.

The list of persona non grata banned from visiting Azerbaijan also includes MPs, businessmen, entertainers, and others, who violated Azerbaijan’s borders and showed disrespect to the sovereignty and territorial unity of the country.

The OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, tasked to mediate for a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, and European countries top Baku’s “black list”.

Thus, the Minsk Group co-chair, Russia, again leads the list with over 130 representatives, followed by the other co-chair, the United States. Germany completes the trio, while Italy and France are the next on the “black list”.

Over the past 11 months, the number of people in the "black list" increased by almost 30 people.

Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan are considered illegal and individuals who pay such visits are included in the ministry’s “black list”.

Two decades of talks mediated by the OSCE MG group have failed to produce a breakthrough, and the renewed hostilities in April 2016, the worst since the ceasefire deal signed in 1994, were assessed as the result of inactivity of the international community.

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