Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

The Hungarian government has dismissed Armenian media reports about an illegal visit of the country's citizens to the Armenian-occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

Hungarian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Jolt Chutora told Trend news agency on October 18 that the information about an illegal visit is a groundless concoction.

Chutora said Hungary and Armenia have no diplomatic relations, no embassies and consulates to obtain visas.

"Therefore, the Hungarians could not visit Armenia, and from there go to Nagorno-Karabakh, which was also confirmed by the Hungarian Foreign Ministry," Chutora said.

Earlier Armenian media circulated reports about a trip of Hungarian students to Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. After the reports, the ambassador requested that the Foreign Ministry of his country clarify the situation.

According to the Hungarian Foreign Ministry and the Ministry of Education of the country, which scrutinized the issue, this information was not confirmed.

Chutora also said the official website of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry regularly provides information calling on citizens not to visit Nagorno-Karabakh.

"It says that without the permission of official Baku visiting this territory is prohibited," Chutora added.

Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia are deemed illegal and individuals paying such visits are included in the "black list" of the Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, the Foreign Ministry released a list of 335 people declared persona non grata over illegal visits to the Armenian-occupied territories.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats over visits to its territories occupied by Armenia. The Foreign Ministry has stated that such visits, paid without prior notification of the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan, are illegal and damaging to the settlement process on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

A precarious cease-fire has been in place between Azerbaijan and Armenia since a lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over a million Azerbaijanis. Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.