Russian Foreign Ministry criticizes Baku for discriminating its citizens of Armenian nationality
Moscow / 11.01.19 / Turan: Moscow expects that Baku will abandon its discriminatory ethnic policy towards Russian citizens of Armenian nationality and will not prevent their entry into Azerbaijan, announced on Friday at a briefing in Moscow the director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
"If we talk about statistics, last year we became aware of at least 16 cases of denial of entry for Russian citizens on ethnic grounds in Azerbaijan," she continued. "At the same time, Russian citizens were detained for hours at the airport and then forcibly expelled from the country without specifying official reasons."
"Such cases, unfortunately, are becoming a tradition, bad and wrong," the diplomat noted. "These facts are, in our view, a gross violation of the rights of Russian citizens, contrary to the letter and spirit of the Russian-Azerbaijani Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security, Intergovernmental Agreement on Visa-free Travel of Citizens and the Declaration of Friendship and Strategic Partnership between Russia and Azerbaijan. "
According to her, the Russian side "has repeatedly drawn the attention of the Azerbaijani side to the unacceptability of the situation, demanded to stop the practice of detention and expulsion, because it is incompatible with the friendly relations between the two countries."
"We received assurances in the course of contacts with the Azerbaijani leadership that the situation would be rectified, and we hope it will," Zakharova said. -02D-
Politics
-
On the eve of the closing of the COP29 climate conference in Baku, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has drawn attention to the criminal cases of journalists detained in Azerbaijan.
-
Negotiations at the 29th session of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Baku have been extended until November 24, a source in the UNFCCC Secretariat told the Turan news agency. According to the source, participants aim to finalize and sign the concluding documents by that date.
-
According to the Turkish newspaper Sabah, officials from the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office's Anti-Smuggling Unit have detained an Azerbaijani citizen with a large shipment of gold. The detention took place near the Vadi İstanbul shopping center in the Sarıyer district, where a taxi was stopped. During the search, 70 kg of gold was found. The Azerbaijani citizen in the vehicle claimed ownership of the cargo and also stated that he was a diplomat. The investigation by the prosecutor's office is ongoing, reports Sabah newspaper. The media outlet does not disclose the name of the "diplomat," only his initials – M.G.Ş. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has declined to comment on the situation.
-
On November 22, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan discussed negotiations with Azerbaijan regarding a peace treaty in an interview with Public TV. In particular, he emphasized that society should move away from certain stereotypes. “We are outraged when we hear the term ‘Western Azerbaijan.’ But we don’t think that when we say ‘Western Armenia,’ it also irritates anyone,” he stated.
Leave a review