Ambassador lists facts casting shadow on Azerbaijan-Russia relations

On July 17, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Russia Polad Bulbuloglu met with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko, Trend reports.

According to the Azerbaijani embassy in Moscow, at the meeting, Rudenko noted that today the main goal of Russia is the signing of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. According to him, the Russian side is ready to provide comprehensive support to this process, including hosting meetings on its territory.

In addition, he highlighted the activities of the Russian peacekeeping forces temporarily deployed on the territory of Azerbaijan.

Polad Bulbuloglu, for his part, said that according to the agreement "On Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Security" signed between the Russian Federation and the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1997, the Russian Federation unconditionally recognizes the territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan and has never questioned the territorial integrity of the country. For this reason, as the ambassador noted, the statement of the Russian Foreign Ministry on July 15 caused discontent in Azerbaijan, including among deputies, experts, and political scientists.

Noting that there are no obstacles to the free and unimpeded passage of Armenians through the Lachin border checkpoint, Bulbuloglu stressed that the Lachin road is used by Armenians for other purposes, including for transporting military ammunition and contraband to the territory of Azerbaijan under the guise of humanitarian aid from the International Committee of the Red Cross. The ambassador noted that there are many documents and videos confirming these illegalities.

Referring to the activities of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, Bulbuloglu said the Armenians, accompanied by peacekeepers, are transporting unknown goods to Khankendi through secret mountain roads. Military training of schoolchildren is also carried out there under the guise of peacekeepers. All this causes justified discontent in Azerbaijan and casts a shadow on Russian-Azerbaijani relations.

At the same time, the ambassador said that the biased opinion about the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan in the Russian media caused a negative reaction in Azerbaijani society, including among political scientists and experts.

Bulbuloglu, speaking about the provocative activities of Ruben Vardanyan in Khankendi, stressed that he creates obstacles to the normalisation of the current situation, and stated that there is an opinion among the Azerbaijani society that he was sent to Khankendi by Russia.

Noting that the peace treaty was an initiative of President Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani ambassador stressed that it does not matter to Baku where the negotiations take place, the main thing is to continue them and achieve a concrete result.