Azerbaijan sent a note to Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development, Spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend on January 25.

The Embassy of Azerbaijan in Canada sent the note in connection with the illegal visit of two members of Canadian Parliament, Tony Clement and Rachel Harder, to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan on September 2, 2017. Consequently, the MPs’ names were included in the list of unwanted persons by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry: “In the response note of Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development it is reaffirmed that Canada recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, including Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions,” 

The response note also states that Canada does not recognize the “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” or its “officials,” and stresses that the Government of Canada supports the peaceful settlement of the conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group process: “In this aspect, the note states that the two members of the Canadian Parliament visited the occupied Azerbaijani regions not on behalf of Canada’s Government, and the Government was not warned in advance about this plan,” Hajıyev noted.

He also said that the note stresses that Canada is aware of Azerbaijan’s policy on entry to Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions of Azerbaijan. Therefore, Canada warned its citizens against traveling to the occupied territories and that such travels without the permission of Azerbaijani authorities are illegal under the laws of Azerbaijan.

Names of any individuals paying unauthorized visits to Nagorno-Karabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia are included in the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's ‘black list.’ The Ministry and diplomatic missions pay special attention to the illegal activity in the occupied areas of the country.

Baku has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats of illegality of visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling them contradictory to international law. The work is constantly carried out to prevent such illegal actions.

Aliqismet  BADALOV,
“Khalq qazeti”