Famous Italian singer Al Bano’s name removed from ‘persona non grata’ list
By Sara Rajabova
The name of the famous Italian singer Al Bano was deleted from the
list of undesirable persons of the Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry.
This step was taken on the appeal of the singer to the Azerbaijani
side with the corresponding request.
Al Bano was included in the list of undesirable individuals by the
Foreign Ministry for his illegal visit to the territories occupied
by Armenia.
In his letter, he expressed regret over the inclusion of his name
on a list of undesirable persons.
Al Bano said that he was not aware of the Armenian-Azerbaijani
conflict, and expressed his deep respect and sympathy for
Azerbaijan.
He said that his visit did not pursue any political goals. Al Bano
also said that he is a singer and it would be an honor to him to
visit again Azerbaijan and present his music to the beautiful
people of Azerbaijan.
Earlier, four foreign citizens blacklisted by Azerbaijan's Foreign
Ministry for illegally visiting the Azerbaijani territories
occupied by Armenia were removed from the list.
They pointed out in their appeals to Baku that they had been taken
to Azerbaijan's occupied territories by deception.
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
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
The Foreign Ministry recently 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
about visits to its territories occupied by Armenia, saying this
contradicts international law. The Foreign Ministry has stated that
such visits, paid without prior notification of the relevant
authorities of Azerbaijan, are illegal and damage the settlement
process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a lengthy war that ended with the
signing of a fragile ceasefire in 1994. More than 20,000
Azerbaijanis were killed and over 1 million displaced as a result
of the large-scale hostilities. Since the war, Armenian armed
forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory,
including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions. Armenia
continues the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council
resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.