U.S. administration refuses to support puppet regime representative’s visit
By Abdul Kerimkhanov
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva said on October 30, the U.S. administration does not support visit of Masis Mayilian and none of the official from the U.S. administration will receive him.
She was answering a question about a visit to the U.S. of the so-called "foreign minister" of puppet regime created in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.
The Azerbaijani ambassador to the U.S. brought the Azerbaijani side’s protest to the attention of the U.S. Department of State, regarding the entry of Mayilian to the U.S., who is representative of the illegal regime created in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region occupied by Armenia.
A delegation led by Mayilian has left for the U.S for a "working visit" on October 28. Mayilian delivered a speech at the event in the U.S. Congress. He met with chairmen and members of key Standing Committees of the U.S. Congress.
Next day, Mayilian attended the discussions on the Armenian "genocide" resolution taken place in the sitting’s hall of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress.
Abdullayeva mentioned that the Azerbaijani embassy sent the corresponding letters to the speaker of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress, as well as to the management, a number of chairmen of the committees.
Azerbaijan also voiced its protest to the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman from the U.S.
“The issue of indicating false information by the representative of the self-proclaimed structure in the visa application, as well as the U.S.' ignorance of the situation were brought to the attention of U.S. officials,” Abdullayeva said. She stressed that such an approach, which is inconsistent with the U.S. general policy, is surprising.
The U.S. official statement in this regard urged that Mayilian’s visit was a private one and emphasized that the policy of not recognizing the separatist regime remains unchanged.
“The Azerbaijani embassy in the U.S. will send a note of protest regarding this issue to the U.S. Department of State. At the same time, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry will express protest to the U.S. embassy in Baku,” Abdullayeva noted.
The protest letter brought reaction from the U.S. A State Department official said on November 1, Washington will continue to work toward a negotiated settlement to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
It was stressed that the U.S. does not recognize the de facto regime in Nagorno-Karabakh, nor does any other country, including Armenia.
“The U.S. supports the OSCE Minsk Group process and will continue to work toward a negotiated settlement based on the Helsinki Final Act principles of non-use of force, territorial integrity, and the equal rights of self-determination of peoples,” the message read.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war that ended with signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. Since the war began, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities.
Until now, Armenia ignores four UN Security Council resolutions on immediate withdrawal from the occupied territory of Azerbaijan, thus keeping tension high in the region.
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Abdul Kerimkhanov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @AbdulKerim94
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