Baku protests to Paris over French candidate’s illegal Karabakh visit
By Vugar Khalilov
Baku has sent a protest note to Paris over a French presidential candidate's illegal visit to Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, the Foreign Ministry reported on December 23.
"In this regard, the Chargé d'Affaires of France in our country was summoned to the Foreign Ministry and was given a note of protest," the report added.
The diplomat was informed about the illegal visit of Ile-de-France region’s president, the candidate of the Republican Party for the presidential elections Valerie Pecress, to Azerbaijan’s Khankandi city.
"This visit, accompanied by other French politicians as part of the election campaign, is a violation of the country's national legislation, directed against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," the ministry said.
The Foreign Ministry strongly protested to the French embassy over the case and the French citizens, who seriously violated the requirements of Azerbaijan’s relevant laws, are responsible under the national legislation.
The ministry stressed that this step of a group of French politicians damages Azerbaijani-French bilateral relations, as well as France's reputation in the region and the role it can play in the normalization of Azerbaijani-Armenian relations after the end of the conflict.
"We would like to inform that the names of French citizens illegally visiting the territories of Azerbaijan have been included in the list of persons undesirable to enter our country," the ministry said.
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