Azerbaijan has expressed protest to the office of Russian Foreign Ministry in the Altai krai (territory) and Tomsk province located in Barnaul, spokesperson of Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Hikmet Hajiyev told Trend on Feb.9.
Azerbaijan protested the illegal visit of masters and postgraduates of the Tomsk State University to Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia, said Hajiyev.
Azerbaijan's Consulate General in Yekaterinburg handed a note to the mentioned representative office of Russian Foreign Ministry, said Hajiyev.
Azerbaijan's Consul General in Yekaterinburg Sultan Gasimov discussed this issue with the leadership of the apparatus of Tomsk governor and Tomsk mayor and expressed the dissatisfaction of the Azerbaijani side with this illegal visit, according to the spokesperson.
Hajiyev said that Azerbaijan's Consulate General also sent a letter of protest to the Tomsk State University.
The university's rector apologized to the consul general and assured him that this issue will be investigated and relevant measures will be taken, according to the spokesperson.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The two countries signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, Russia, France and the US are currently holding peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the UN Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
Those illegally visiting Azerbaijan's occupied territories are included in the 'black list' of the country's Foreign Ministry.
Edited by SI
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Asebaa