Italian Il Foglio newspaper has published a letter of refutation, addressed to the First Lady of Azerbaijan with regards to the slanderous article.
The letter says that the editorial article published in Il Foglio on Dec. 3 has given rise to somewhat negative reactions in Baku, "which our newspaper can only regret".
Il Foglio offers its apologies to Azerbaijan's First Lady, Goodwill Ambassadress of UNESCO and ISESCO, President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and MP Mehriban Aliyeva, to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, and to all Azerbaijani people. The letters by the Azerbaijani people addressed to the newspaper contain not only the deep affection for the First Lady, but also the anguish it feels following the offence to her prestige, the letter says.
The newspaper acknowledged that some diplomatic sources and the article have basically proven to be totally unreliable.
Il Foglio newspaper expressed confidence that the excellent relations and mutual fondness that exists between Italians and Azerbaijanis will not suffer even for a moment because of journalistic faux pas.
Earlier the Protocol Service of the First Lady of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva expressed deep indignation over slanderous figment published on Dec. 3 this year in the Il Foglio newspaper, denigrating the honour and dignity of the First Lady of Azerbaijan. Following standard ethical norms and human rights for privacy and to be protected from slander enshrined in all international and European documents, the Protocol Service of the First Lady of Azerbaijan, for its part, officially demands that Il Foglio present its apologies immediately to First Lady of Azerbaijan and publish refutation of the above-mentioned article. "Our country reserves the right to officially file legal actions with Italian and international courts to protect honor and dignity of the First Lady of Azerbaijan," said the statement by the Protocol Service of the First Lady of Azerbaijan.