Armenians Are Targeted by Discrimination in Azerbaijan, Says MFA Spokesperson

The spokesperson for the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has commented on the statements made by the Azerbaijani foreign minister during an interview with the "Izvestia" newspaper.

In response to a question regarding the recent meeting with the Armenian foreign minister, Azerbaijan's foreign minister expressed "disappointment", also mentioning that the basis for negotiations is the Kazan document, developed based on the Madrid principles. We ask for your comments regarding this.

Naghdalyan remarked that concerning the Azerbaijani foreign minister's views on the peaceful settlement process in Nagorno-Karabakh, it is worth reminding that the "Kazan document" was rejected by Azerbaijan itself. We have consistently presented our principled stance and approaches in the peace settlement process of Nagorno-Karabakh, where the issues of security and the status of Artsakh hold primary importance. We are persistently working around our agenda.

The Azerbaijani foreign minister also touched upon the issues related to Armenians of Armenian descent visiting Azerbaijan, proposing a unique solution to the problem. Naghdalyan pointed out that Armenians are targets of discrimination in Azerbaijan, which is not new to us. Essentially, this is also confirmed by the Azerbaijani foreign minister in his interview, who acknowledges the existence of discriminatory policies against people of Armenian descent, a matter that has repeatedly been raised by other countries and international organizations, particularly by Russia and the OSCE/ODIHR.

According to the Azerbaijani official, the best way to manage the existing discriminatory policy is to make the entry of every Armenian into Azerbaijan a subject of negotiations.