Tweet
Expatica France
June 11 2010
Azerbaijan blacklists French lawmakers for Karabakh visit
Azerbaijan said Friday it was adding seven members of a French
parliamentary delegation to a blacklist of people banned from the
country for visiting its breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan has recently stepped up efforts to prevent foreigners from
visiting Nagorny Karabakh and last month had declared five Russian
lawmakers persona non grata for visiting the region.
"We have confirmed that they visited the occupied territories and as a
result have included their names on the list of people whose presence
in Azerbaijan is undesirable," foreign ministry spokesman Elkhan
Polukhov told AFP.
He said French National Assembly members Arlette Grosskost, Pascale
Crozon, Richard Mallie, Rene Rouquet, Francois Rochebloine and Michel
Diefenbacher would be added to the blacklist after visiting Karabakh
this week.
Also banned was Jean-Pierre Delannoy, the secretary of the assembly's
France-Armenia Friendship Group.
"This policy of the Azerbaijani state concerns politicians of any rank
from any country," Polukhov said.
"People holding certain positions or representing elected bodies must
more seriously consider proposals to visit Azerbaijan's occupied
territories."
Baku has repeatedly warned foreigners against travelling to the
region, which is only accessible through Armenia, without permission
from Azerbaijani authorities.
Backed by Yerevan, ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh broke from
Baku's control in a war in the early 1990s that claimed an estimated
30,000 lives.
Internationally mediated negotiations have failed to resolve the
dispute and tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia remain high.
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/azerbaijan-blacklists-french-lawmakers-for-karabakh-visit_75775.html
From: A. Papazian
June 11 2010
Azerbaijan blacklists French lawmakers for Karabakh visit
Azerbaijan said Friday it was adding seven members of a French
parliamentary delegation to a blacklist of people banned from the
country for visiting its breakaway Nagorny Karabakh region.
Azerbaijan has recently stepped up efforts to prevent foreigners from
visiting Nagorny Karabakh and last month had declared five Russian
lawmakers persona non grata for visiting the region.
"We have confirmed that they visited the occupied territories and as a
result have included their names on the list of people whose presence
in Azerbaijan is undesirable," foreign ministry spokesman Elkhan
Polukhov told AFP.
He said French National Assembly members Arlette Grosskost, Pascale
Crozon, Richard Mallie, Rene Rouquet, Francois Rochebloine and Michel
Diefenbacher would be added to the blacklist after visiting Karabakh
this week.
Also banned was Jean-Pierre Delannoy, the secretary of the assembly's
France-Armenia Friendship Group.
"This policy of the Azerbaijani state concerns politicians of any rank
from any country," Polukhov said.
"People holding certain positions or representing elected bodies must
more seriously consider proposals to visit Azerbaijan's occupied
territories."
Baku has repeatedly warned foreigners against travelling to the
region, which is only accessible through Armenia, without permission
from Azerbaijani authorities.
Backed by Yerevan, ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh broke from
Baku's control in a war in the early 1990s that claimed an estimated
30,000 lives.
Internationally mediated negotiations have failed to resolve the
dispute and tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia remain high.
http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/azerbaijan-blacklists-french-lawmakers-for-karabakh-visit_75775.html
From: A. Papazian