The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry described the statement by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova about the non-admission of citizens of the Russian Federation of Armenian origin to the territory of the Azerbaijan Republic, as statement contradicting the spirit of bilateral strategic relations, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Leyla Abdullayeva told Trend Jan. 11.
Abdullayeva expressed regret that this was not the first time when the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation made statements contradicting the spirit of bilateral strategic relations.
"On the background of development of Azerbaijani-Russian relations, this statement and attempts to inflate some particular case, taking it out of the general context, are another manifestation of the general trend we have indicated.
A representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry said that "the Azerbaijani side promised that this situation would be corrected." "We strongly refute this. Azerbaijani-Russian relations are based on equality, and the expression “correct the situation” contradicts the essence of equal bilateral relations. We are convinced that the next provocative and anti-Azerbaijani statement by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry will not have a negative impact on relations between Azerbaijan and Russia. Azerbaijani-Russian relations are determined not by the foreign affairs structured, but by the presidents of Azerbaijan and Russia, and both sides are very interested in developing these relations and are making efforts in this direction," she noted.
According to the spokeswoman, only in 2018, 880,000 Russian citizens visited Azerbaijan, and there were no complaints by them on the issue raised.
"The overwhelming majority of the citizens of Russia were pleased with their visit and expressed gratitude for the hospitality. I would like to note that among the visitors there were Russian citizens of Armenian origin. At the same time, not only Russian citizens of Armenian origin, but also citizens of Armenia participated in international events competitions and cultural events held in Azerbaijan, and they had no problems," she said.
