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Lithuanian embassy not informed about MP's visit to Nagorno-Karabakh

2 September 2014 17:17 (UTC+04:00)
Lithuanian embassy not informed about MP's visit to Nagorno-Karabakh

By Aynur Jafarova

The Lithuanian embassy in Azerbaijan was not informed earlier about the visit of Dalia Kuodytė, the member of Seimas [the Lithuanian Parliament], to Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan's historical territories occupied by Armenia.

The news was announced by the Lithuanian embassy in Azerbaijan on September 2 which commented on the visit of the Seimas member to Azerbaijan's occupied territories.

Armenian media said that Dalia Kuodytė visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh on September 1, where she met with representatives of the separatist regime.

"This visit was private," the embassy told Trend Agency.

Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan which are occupied by Armenia are considered illegal, and the individuals who pay such visits are included in Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's "black list".

Azerbaijan has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats about visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling it contradictory to international laws.

Baku has stated that such visits, paid without prior notification to the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan, are illegal and damage the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

The Foreign Ministry released a list of 335 people in 2013 declaring 'persona non grata' any illegal visits to the Armenian-occupied territories. Some of these people were removed from the list after appealing to the Azerbaijani government to forgive them.

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 were 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.

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