Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement in connection with the ban for Russian citizens of Armenian origin to enter Azerbaijan.

“We take note of the tone of comments that goes beyond diplomatic decency. No less perplexing is its content, which results to “not inflating” the topic of discrimination of Russian citizens coming to Azerbaijan which allegedly has little significance amid the dynamic development of bilateral relations,” says the statement issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Russia’s foreign office calls such an approach unacceptable, as protection of the rights and interests of the Russian citizens is priority of Moscow’s foreign policy. The statement says the Russian side would like to hear meaningful explanations on each incident involving Russian nationals.

The ministry pointed out an alarming case when a 80-year-old woman, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, was banned from entering the country as well as the incident with a mother of 4-year-old son who was forced to wait for hours in a special cell.

“We also expect official clarifications through diplomatic channels regarding the hints of the Azerbaijani side on the need for Russian citizens to coordinate trips to Azerbaijan with the republic’s embassy in Moscow, which would violate the July 3, 1997 agreement on visa-free trips of citizens of the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan Republic.

Depending on the substantive reaction of the Azerbaijani side, we will determine our further steps,” the statement says.