Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Artemiy Lebedev, Russian blogger who paid an illegal visit to the occupied regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and violated Law on “State Border” thereby was included into the persona-non-grata list compiled by the Foreign Ministry, made a written request to remove his name from the list.

In his letter, Lebedev stressed that he was unaware about the procedures on getting formal permission from the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan prior to the visit in June, 2010 to the occupied territories. Expressing his respect to the territorial integrity, sovereignty and laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Lebedev apologized to the people of Azerbaijan for his illegal visit to the occupied regions of the country.

Lebedev added that he would avoid visits to the occupied regions without prior notification of the relevant authorities of of Azerbaijan.

After considering his appeal in accordance with the procedures, Lebedev's name was removed from the persona-non-grata list.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry and diplomatic missions pay special attention to the illegal activity in the occupied areas of Azerbaijan. The work is constantly carried out to prevent illegal actions and visits.

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 has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats of unauthorized visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling them contradictory to international laws.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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