Azernews.Az

The Russian and Jewish communities of Azerbaijan have appealed to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev over TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov's attacks on Azerbaijan.

"Insulting remarks against Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people were voiced at the 'Morning with Vladimir Solovyov. Full contact' show broadcasted on Vesti FM radio station on November 1," says the letter, sent to President Medvedev and General Director of the All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company Oleg Dobrodeev.

The letter, undersigned by Azerbaijani MPs Mikhail Zabelin and Evda Abramov, says that Solovyov, violating all norms of journalistic ethics, called the Azerbaijanis "a party, for whom a drop of Armenian blood is the subject of wild and inhuman hatred."

In response to the protests from Azerbaijani listeners, Solovyov called them "scum" who dared to "open their dirty mouth against the Russian citizens", the letter reads.

He tried to portray Azerbaijan as "a racist country", openly called for a boycott of Azerbaijanis and their business, it said.

"Solovyov, who is also a member of the Presidium of the Russian Jewish Congress, dared to compare the Azerbaijanis' attitude toward Armenians with the Holocaust and the 'tragedy of the Jewish people'. As representatives of Russian and Jewish communities of Azerbaijan, we express our protest against Solovyov's behavior and insults addressed to the multinational people of Azerbaijan. We believe blaming a country, where dozens of nations co-exist in peace and friendship, for racism is blasphemy.

"There is no doubt that such provocations are aimed at worsening neighborly relations between the two countries," the letter said.

It said that it was particularly disappointing that the offensive remarks and overtly extremist calls for incitement of ethnic hatred sounded on a radio station that is part of the major state-run media corporation - Federal State Unitary Enterprise Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Network.

"In this regard, we ask You to take action against the 'journalist' who dared to insult the Azerbaijani people. We hope that the forces trying to play out the anti-Azerbaijani card and undermine the relations between Azerbaijan and Russia will get due rebuff," the letter reads.

Head of Azerbaijan's Mountain Jews community, Semyon Ikhiilov, has also issued a statement condemning Solovyev’s remarks made on the air and labeled them as "hypocrisy, a subversive act and slander".