Baku slams French MP for illegal visit to occupied territories
By Sara Rajabova
Baku has condemned the French National Assembly member over his illegal visit to the occupied Azerbaijani territories.
In this regard, Azerbaijan's embassy in France has sent a note of protest to the French Foreign Ministry, Acting Head of the Press Service of the Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev told Trend news agency on October 2.
The protest note was also sent to the French National Assembly and the organizer company of the tourism exhibition in connection with the visit of the French National Assembly member Francois Rochebloine to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia are considered illegal, and the individuals who pay such visits are included in Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's "black list".
Azerbaijan also criticized the representation of the "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" in the pavilion dedicated to Armenia on the international tourism exhibition held on September 23-26 in Paris.
Hajiyev noted that on the eve of the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian presidents, organized by French President Francois Hollande late October, commitment of intentional illegal acts by individuals like Rochebloine, who are under the influence of the Armenian diaspora in France, was primarily a provocation against Azerbaijan.
He said Rochebloine has chauvinistic and racist views and is influenced by Armenia and the Armenian diaspora in France.
Hajiyev also added that communication with the separatist regime established by Armenia on Azerbaijan's occupied territories, allows Rochebloine to play a direct role in the approval of propaganda of separatism, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, occupation and aggression.
Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry in 2013 released a list of 335 people declared 'persona non grata' over their illegal visits to the Armenian-occupied territories. Some of these people were removed from the list after appealing to the Azerbaijani government.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats of unauthorized visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling them 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.
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.