Note of protest to the Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan

Baku / 06.11.19 / Turan: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Russia to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov was invited to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country, where the deputy head of the department Khalaf Khalafov met with him.

The Russian ambassador was handed a note of protest by the Foreign Ministry in connection with a trip to the Russian Federation Masis Mayilyan and Lernik Hovhannisyan, the “representatives” of the illegal regime created in the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia, the press service of the Foreign Ministry said.

The note notes that the entry of the so-called “representatives” of illegal formation created in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan to Russia and their meetings with a number of Russian experts and academic center staff have been Armenia’s efforts for almost 30 years to consolidate the status quo in the occupied territories. 

Such visits are invariably provocative and directed against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

This harms the negotiation process and does not correspond to the spirit of relations between Azerbaijan and Russia, based on sincerity and high trust, as well as the provisions of the "Agreement on friendship, cooperation and mutual security between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Russia" of July 3, 1997.

The visit of “representatives” of illegal formation to the territory of Russia and the possibility of promoting the results of the occupation there does not correspond to the mediation obligations of the Russian Federation as one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group. It does not correspond to the status, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council, which supported its resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884, adopted in 1993. It was also emphasized that the mission of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs is to demonstrate an impartial approach to all issues related to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

In this regard, the Azerbaijani side informed Ambassador Bocharnikov of its expectations from the Russian side to take all necessary measures to prevent such illegal visits.

Ambassador Bocharnikov, in turn, emphasized that Russia's position on the conflict is well known and unchanged, and any entry of “representatives” of unrecognized entities into Russia does not reflect the official position of Moscow. He also said that he would report to the Russian Foreign Ministry about the protest of the Azerbaijani side. — 06D-