Azerbaijan, Baku, Sept. 2 / Trend S.Agayeva /
Renowned French actor Gerard Depardieu does not intend to visit Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Azerbaijani Embassy in France told Trend today that Depardieu plans to attend a festival in Armenia upon the invitation of the government.
"But this does not mean that he will visit the occupied region of Nagorno Karabakh," Azerbaijani Ambassador Elchin Amirbeyov said. Armenian media reported earlier that the actor would visit the region as part of this year's Carot Cultural Festival.
Depardieu has already promised to attend the third annual Carot event, which will be held in Yerevan and Nagorno Karabakh, Armenian media quoted Armenian Culture Development Fund President and festival organizer Metso Igityan as saying. The festival will open today.
Depardieu will not attend the opening of the festival in Khankendi. However, he will arrive in Yerevan on the evening of Sept. 3 to accept a professional award, the embassy said..
Earlier, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry appealed to the embassy to clarify if the French actor plans to visit the occupied territories without the permission of the Azerbaijani authorities.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the United States - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of Nagorno Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
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