Germany Apologizes to Azerbaijan

The German presidential office has issued an apology to Azerbaijan regarding a photo posted on social media by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. This was reported by Azerbaijani news sources.

In a letter from the head of the German presidential office, Secretary Dörte Dinger, addressed to Hikmet Hajiyev, assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, it was noted that a "wrong flag" along with an accompanying text referring to one of the supposed regions of Azerbaijan (occupied Artsakh) was published on Steinmeier's social media for a short period.

“As soon as the mistake was discovered, the relevant publication was immediately deleted. The post was made due to a technical error and has no significance regarding Germany's well-known position on Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. I am very sorry for the mistake that occurred and would like to express my sincere apologies for the wrong impression left by the Azerbaijani side in connection with the aforementioned letter,” the message stated.

Dinger emphasized that Steinmeier's upcoming visit to Azerbaijan aims to strengthen Azerbaijani-German partnership and support the ongoing peace process in the region.

It is noteworthy that on March 31, the German Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Ralph Horrelemann, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This decision was made in connection with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier's visit to Armenia. During this regional visit, he posted a message on his Instagram story and published a photo of the Artsakh flag.