Azernews.Az

By Sara Rajabova

Azerbaijan has protested planned tours of St. Petersburg’s 'Imperial' circus to Azerbaijan’s occupied territories by Armenia.

Azerbaijan’s Consulate General in Russia’s St. Petersburg sent a letter of protest to the city administration following news that the St. Petersburg circus plans tours to Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region, the consulate general reported.

“Corresponding letters were sent to the city administration and the committee on culture of St. Petersburg on the inadmissibility of the mentioned event in Azerbaijan’s territories occupied by the Armenian armed forces,” the consulate said.

The consulate went on to note that the meetings with officials of the St. Petersburg city administration and the committee on culture, as well as with Russian foreign ministry representatives in the city, are to be held for discussion of this fact.

St. Petersburg "Imperial" circus is a commercial enterprise founded in 2005, but not a circus that is part of the Bolshoi St. Petersburg State Circus, which opened in December 1877. Moreover, the Bolshoi Chapiteau Circus continues legal wrangling with "Imperial" over its misappropriation of the historic “Chapiteau” brand name, the consulate added.

Unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied regions of Azerbaijan are considered illegal and individuals who pay such visits are included on the ministry’s “black list”.

Russia tops the list with 133 individuals, followed by the United States. The two countries are co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, which was tasked to mediate for a peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions of Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly one million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994, but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Peace talks mediated by Russia, France and the U.S. have so far produced no results.

Despite repeated calls, Armenia, defying all principles of international law, has been holding the Azerbaijani territories under occupation. Currently, these areas temporarily remain beyond the control of Azerbaijan.

Therefore, any visit to the territories without Azerbaijan’s consent, which are internationally recognized as an integral part of Azerbaijan, is considered a violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and a breach of both national legislation and the relevant norms and principles of international law.

Baku has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats against unauthorized visits to territories under Armenian occupation, stating that such visits violate international law. The country urges all foreign nationals to refrain from traveling to the occupied territories in and around the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

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

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