Baku's Answer to Moscow: Speaking in Ultimatum Tone with Azerbaijan Unacceptable

Baku / 18.01.19 / Turan: The press service of the Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan responded to the comment of the Russian Foreign Ministry on January 18 regarding the non-admission of some citizens of the Russian Federation with Armenian surnames to Azerbaijan.

"Azerbaijan and Russia are equal sovereign states, and speaking in an ultimatum tone with Azerbaijan is unacceptable and completely contrary to the ethical norms of diplomacy," the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Friday.

It is also indicated that the tone of the previous comment of the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan on this issue was "absolutely adequate to the style of communication of the press service of the Russian Federation".

"Once again, I would like to remind you that only in 2018 over 880,000 citizens of the Russian Federation visited Azerbaijan, the absolute majority of whom were satisfied and expressed appreciation for the hospitality. The inexplicable persistence of the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation in this matter is difficult to understand; it contradicts the basis of the strategic relations between Azerbaijan and Russia. At the same time, this approach does not in any way coincide with the will and work done by the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia in the development of relations between the two states," the press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said.

The statements says that "adequate actions will be taken in accordance with the further steps of the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry."

* On January 11, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that Russians with Armenian names would not be allowed to enter Azerbaijan. According to her, "the Azerbaijani side has promised that this situation will be corrected."

On January 16, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva criticized Zakharova"s statement. It was stressed that the Azerbaijani side did not give assurances to "correct the situation".

"We strongly refute this. Azerbaijani-Russian relations are based on equality, and the expression "correct the situation" contradicts the essence of equal bilateral relations," said Abdullayeva.

On January 18, the press service of the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed no satisfaction with the response of the Azerbaijani side.

".. We are awaiting official clarifications through diplomatic channels regarding the hints of the Azerbaijani side on the need for Russian citizens to coordinate trips to Azerbaijan with the republic"s Embassy in Moscow, which would violate the July 3, 1997 Agreement on visa-free trips of citizens of the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan Republic. Depending on the substantive reaction of the Azerbaijani side, we will determine our further steps," the RF Foreign Ministry"s press service said.-06D--