Azerbaijan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Russian Side's Hysteria is Incomprehensible

In recent days, emotional statements from Russia regarding the dismantling of a statue of Ivan Aivazovsky, a Russian academic classic and romantic painter of Armenian descent, and the hysterical approach exhibited by certain media outlets unfortunately overshadow the political and legal essence of the issue. This was stated by Zaur Mamedov, an adviser to the President of Azerbaijan and chairman of the Baku Political Scientists Club.

According to him, the artificial hysteria surrounding Aivazovsky's statue in the neighboring country is completely incomprehensible. “Russia is especially sensitive to monuments and statues in neighboring countries. In particular, it makes official statements against the authorities of those countries regarding the dismantling of monuments and statues of Russians who fought in World War II, accusing those countries of disrespect towards Russian history and Russian fighters, nationalism, and other issues. Russia strictly condemns these actions. However, the statue of Aivazovsky should not be assessed in the same context as previous similar incidents,” said the deputy.

Zaur Mamedov pointed out that the statue of Aivazovsky was illegally installed. “This concerns the installation of the statue, which took place following the trilateral statement signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia on November 10, 2020. In that statement, the President of Russia and the Prime Minister of Armenia recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as an inseparable part of Azerbaijan. If Russia itself recognizes Nagorno-Karabakh as an inseparable part of Azerbaijan, how could it be possible for the statue to be illegally placed there without the consent of Azerbaijan? And now there are harsh and emotional statements in Russia regarding the dismantling of that statue by Azerbaijani authorities. Some Russian media accuse Azerbaijan of nationalism and chauvinism. However, this issue is related neither to nationalism nor to hostility. The matter is connected to the respect for Azerbaijan’s sovereign rights and territorial integrity. If someone wants to cooperate with Azerbaijan, they must respect its territorial integrity,” Mamedov concluded his speech.

It should be recalled that earlier, the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs demanded an apology from the Russian side.