Azerbaijan lifts entry ban for three S. Korean citizens
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has removed the names of three South Koreans citizens, illegally visiting separatist Nagorno-Karabakh region, from the list of "undesirable people" that bans them from entering Azerbaijan.
The ministry’s move comes after Ji Sun Kim, Lee Soo Jeong and Mun Kyeong Won, who are citizens of South Korea addressed a letter on October 8 to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan asking for a removal of their names from the “List of foreign citizens illegally visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan,” Azernews reported.
In their letter, they emphasized their respect to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders, as well as to the rules and regulations in force in the territory of Azerbaijan.
South Koreans also stressed that this visit is in no way indicator of their disrespect to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. They underlined in their appeal that they were unaware of the consequences of the visit and they will refrain from such illegal visits in the future.
Appeal by the South Korean citizens was appropriately considered and the decision was made to remove their names from the mentioned list.
Unless a visa or an official warrant is issued by Azerbaijani authorities, the government of Azerbaijan condemns any visit by foreign citizens to the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh and the adjacent seven regions which are de jure part of Azerbaijan under Armenian control.
Azerbaijan considers entering these territories through Armenia a violation of its visa and migration policy. Foreign citizens who enter these territories will be permanently banned from entering Azerbaijan and will be included on the list of "undesirable people" by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.
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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
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