Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Baku will include Russian businessman in the list of undesirable persons for his illegal stay in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories.

Hikmet Hajiyev, the Azerbaijani foreign ministry spokesperson said on July 7 that the ministry will investigate the fact of illegal stay of Russian businessman German Sterligov and his family members in the occupied lands.

“This person has illegally visited Azerbaijan’s occupied territories by violating Azerbaijan’s law on state border. In accordance with the procedures and the results of the investigation, his name will be included in the ministry’s list of personas non grata,” Hajiyev said.

German Sterligov left Russia and went to Nagorno-Karabakh, the businessman’s lawyer told BBC on July 6. Sterligov put up his livestock and vehicle fleet for sale before leaving.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry and diplomatic missions pay special attention to illegal activities 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 individuals who pay such visits are included in Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's "black list".

Azerbaijan has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats against such unauthorized visits to those territories under Armenian occupation; calling them contradictory to international laws.

Armenia occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions, after laying territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor that caused a brutal war in the early 1990s. Long-standing efforts by U.S., Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

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

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