YEREVAN, OCTOBER 18, ARMENPRESS. Spokeswoman of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia Anna Naghdalyan commented on the statements of the Azerbaijani foreign minister made during his interview to the Russian Izvestia daily.

ARMENPRESS presents the comment of the MFA spokesperson.

Question: In his interview, the Azerbaijani foreign minister expressed “disappointment” over the recent meeting held with the Armenian FM, stating that the Kazan document developed based on the Madrid principles is a base for the negotiations. Could you please comment on this?

Answer: As for the Azerbaijani FM’s opinion on the peaceful settlement process of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, I just would like to make a slight reminder that the Kazan document has been rejected by Azerbaijan itself. We have consistently presented our principled position and approaches on the peaceful settlement process of the NK conflict, in which the issues of Artsakh’s security and status are a priority. We are consistently working on our agenda.

Question: In his interview, the Azerbaijani FM also touched upon the issues related to the visit of ethnic Armenians to Azerbaijan, by presenting a unique option for the solution of the issue. How would you comment on this?

Answer: The fact that Armenians are a target of discrimination in Azerbaijan is not something new for us. In fact, this is also confirmed by the Azerbaijani FM in his interview who accepts the existence of a discriminatory policy against ethnic Armenians, which has been repeatedly voiced by other states and international organizations, in particular Russia and the OSCE/ODIHR. According to the Azerbaijani official, the best way to manage the existing discriminatory policy is to make the issue of the entry of every ethnic Armenian into Azerbaijan a subject of negotiations.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan