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BAKU: KARABAKH IS OPEN TO THE WORLD
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 23 2015
23 March 2015 - 12:32pm
Researchers, academicians, journalists and other people who would like
to visit Azerbaijan's occupied territories for professional activities
should abide by the laws of Azerbaijan, the head of Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry's press service, Hikmet Hajiyev, said during an episode of
the program 'This Week in Focus'.
He added that Baku is very pragmatic and open on this issue. Hajiyev
said that in order to visit Azerbaijan's occupied territories,
foreigners need to submit an appeal to Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry.
According to him, recently representatives of the New York Times and
a researcher from the UK were granted permission.
The spokesman of the Foreign Ministry complained that foreign
journalists were not previously aware of the procedures needed to
visit Azerbaijan's occupied territories, due to that the Ministry
raised awareness of the issue.
He also denied Armenia's statements that it is making a profit
from attracting foreigners to Nagorno-Karabakh. In this regard,
Hikmet Hajiyev said that the majority of those people who illegally
visit this region are citizens of Armenia. The second major group of
visitors are members of the Armenian diaspora from other countries.
In addition, there are people, who were misled into thinking that
they are visiting a part of Armenia. "And we have a lot of appeals
from this group of people. They understand the situation, and express
support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. They respect
the law of Azerbaijan and they ask to be removed from the list of
the persons who are declared as undesirable in the republic," Trend
cited him as saying.
The press secretary also stated that there has been a decrease in
the number of people who illegally visit the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan. In particular, last year only 60-70 people there illegally
visited Nagorno-Karabakh.
A member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Sergey
Markov, told Vestnik Kavkaza that a formal procedure for legal visits
to the occupied Azerbaijani territories, agreed with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, is not well enough known in the world,
which explains the presence of a significant number of illegal trips
to Karabakh through Armenia. "There is no clear understanding that
it should be done, how it should be done and where you need to go,"
he said.
Also, he said, for the most part Karabakh is visited by those who
do not consider it necessary to inform Azerbaijan about their time
in the occupied territories. "As a rule, Armenian friends go to
Nagorno-Karabakh and they certainly do not see any reason to ask
permission from Baku. I think only neutral foreigners use legal ways,
for example, someone from the Council of Europe," Markov said.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/news/society/68311.html
From: A. Papazian
Vestnik Kavkaza, Russia
March 23 2015
23 March 2015 - 12:32pm
Researchers, academicians, journalists and other people who would like
to visit Azerbaijan's occupied territories for professional activities
should abide by the laws of Azerbaijan, the head of Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministry's press service, Hikmet Hajiyev, said during an episode of
the program 'This Week in Focus'.
He added that Baku is very pragmatic and open on this issue. Hajiyev
said that in order to visit Azerbaijan's occupied territories,
foreigners need to submit an appeal to Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry.
According to him, recently representatives of the New York Times and
a researcher from the UK were granted permission.
The spokesman of the Foreign Ministry complained that foreign
journalists were not previously aware of the procedures needed to
visit Azerbaijan's occupied territories, due to that the Ministry
raised awareness of the issue.
He also denied Armenia's statements that it is making a profit
from attracting foreigners to Nagorno-Karabakh. In this regard,
Hikmet Hajiyev said that the majority of those people who illegally
visit this region are citizens of Armenia. The second major group of
visitors are members of the Armenian diaspora from other countries.
In addition, there are people, who were misled into thinking that
they are visiting a part of Armenia. "And we have a lot of appeals
from this group of people. They understand the situation, and express
support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. They respect
the law of Azerbaijan and they ask to be removed from the list of
the persons who are declared as undesirable in the republic," Trend
cited him as saying.
The press secretary also stated that there has been a decrease in
the number of people who illegally visit the occupied territories of
Azerbaijan. In particular, last year only 60-70 people there illegally
visited Nagorno-Karabakh.
A member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Sergey
Markov, told Vestnik Kavkaza that a formal procedure for legal visits
to the occupied Azerbaijani territories, agreed with the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, is not well enough known in the world,
which explains the presence of a significant number of illegal trips
to Karabakh through Armenia. "There is no clear understanding that
it should be done, how it should be done and where you need to go,"
he said.
Also, he said, for the most part Karabakh is visited by those who
do not consider it necessary to inform Azerbaijan about their time
in the occupied territories. "As a rule, Armenian friends go to
Nagorno-Karabakh and they certainly do not see any reason to ask
permission from Baku. I think only neutral foreigners use legal ways,
for example, someone from the Council of Europe," Markov said.
http://vestnikkavkaza.net/news/society/68311.html
From: A. Papazian