Details added (first version posted on 15:11)
Baku, Azerbaijan, Mar. 17
Trend:
Greek Ambassador Dimitrios Tsoungas was summoned to Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry in connection with the issue related to the visit of Karen Mirzoyan to Greece, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s Spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev told Trend Mar. 17.
Karen Mirzoyan introduced himself as the representative of the illegal regime created in Azerbaijan’s Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is under Armenia’s occupation.
The Azerbaijani side brought to the attention of the Greek diplomat its dissatisfaction and concern over this visit, which contradicts the memorandum, signed in 2014 between the two countries’ foreign ministries on cooperation in the issues of the European Union that reaffirms the commitment to sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of borders, said Hajiyev.
During the meeting with Dimitrios Tsoungas, it was proposed to inform Greek citizens about the illegality of visiting Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia that will lead to legal liability.
Tsoungas, for his part, noted that Greece supports territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan and promised to inform the officials of his country about the dissatisfaction and concern of the Azerbaijani side.
Greece’s Foreign Ministry told the Azerbaijani embassy that Mirzoyan’s visit was of private nature and there were no meetings with Greek officials.
Hikmat Hajiyev added that in general, it is regrettable that the European Union’s ban on visits of “representatives” of separatist regimes is applied selectively by some EU member states with regard to the regime, illegally established in the Armenia-occupied Azerbaijani territories.
Mirzoyan and other “representatives” of this regime pay visits to foreign countries with diplomatic passports of Armenia, noted the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s spokesman.
Such provocative visits are aimed at encouraging the so-called regime and damage the peace process and lead to an escalation of the situation in the region, added Hajiyev.