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Russia respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and is committed to resolving the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by peaceful means, Russian Foreign Ministry said in response to Azerbaijan’s request.

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev said according to reports on social networks, the driving license which Emil Arzangulyan obtained in the Russian Federation indicates his place of birth as Nagorno-Karabakh. Under the instruction of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry, the country’s embassy in Moscow appealed to the Russian Foreign Ministry and Interior Ministry in this regard.

“Given the fact that Arzangulyan was born in Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO) of Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (ASSR), the phrase “Nagorno-Karabakh” mentioned in his driving license signifies NKAO of ASSR,” the Russian Foreign Ministry underlined.

"In accordance with the rules on registration and issuance of driver's licenses approved by Order No. 365 dated 13 May 2009 of the Russian Interior Ministry, the place of birth in driving licenses is indicated with the name of larger administrative-territorial unit,” it adds.


The statement further says that the information Emil Arzangulyan disseminated through social networks has nothing to do with Russia’s official position on this issue, AzerTac state news agency reported.

Armenia and Azerbaijan remain locked in a bitter territorial dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which Armenia-backed separatists seized from Azerbaijan in a bloody war in the early 1990s.

Azerbaijan's internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh territory was turned into a battlefield and zone of aggravated tensions after Armenia sent its troops to occupy Azerbaijan's lands. As a result, 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory stands under military occupation. For the past two decades, and despite calls from the international community, Armenia has refused to withdraw its troops and retreat within its national borders.

The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the U.S. are currently holding peace negotiations.
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