Baku removes Georgian writer's name from persona non grata list
By Mushvig Mehdiyev
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry removed the name of a Georgian writer from its list of personas non grata.
The ministry announced on April 13 that following Georgian writer David Turashvili's official appeal his name was listed off from the "black list" of the ministry.
Spokesman for the ministry, Hikmet Hajiyev said the Georgian writer claimed that his visit to the occupied Azerbaijani lands was accidental.
"Turashvili sent an appeal letter to the ministry asking to be removed from the persona non grata list. He explained his illegal visit to the occupied territories was not aimed at disrespecting Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and law," Hajiyev said.
Turashvili’s appeal was examined and the ministry confirmed the appeal to remove his name from the "black list", noted Hajiyev.
In August 2013, the Foreign Ministry announced David Turashvili as a persona non grata after he visited the occupied Azerbaijani lands without Baku's official permission.
The Georgian embassy in Azerbaijan has then condemned the writer's move, saying that the Georgian Foreign Department had already informed Georgians that it was banned for a foreign citizen to enter the occupied territories of Azerbaijan without an official written permission from Baku.
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 such illegal actions.
Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia are considered illegal, and any individuals paying 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 law.
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.