Russian TV presenter apologizes to Azerbaijan "I cause discord"

Russian TV presenter Vladimir Solovyov has apologized to the Azerbaijani side for an interview with Armenian separatist David Babayan. Solovyov acknowledged that by this action he brought discord into the Russia-Azerbaijan relations, which play an important role in world politics. At the same time, the Russian TV presenter made another political mistake/provocation, calling the Karabakh Armenians a “side”. He noted that the problem occurred as a result of inviting Babayan to the show, rather than the imbalance in the show.

“I made, let’s say, a political mistake because I destroyed the balance of power in a very complex system that is happening now in the Caucasus, and of course, if I invited the “representative of Karabakh”, then I should have immediately invited a representative of Azerbaijan to keep the balance and do it correctly,” he added.

“I just tried to do it one by one however, I failed. It was necessary to agree on this issue with both sides. So, there would be journalistic objectivity. Now I think how to get a comment from the highly respected Azerbaijani side,” the TV presenter said.

“I would like to reiterate that I understand well the role that the Russia-Azerbaijan relations play in the world, and I understand how important it is not to bring discord into these relations,” he said.

“I reiterate that I am ready to provide airtime at any level for the Azerbaijani side to speak out and, of course, first of all, I appreciate peace and tranquillity in this region. Therefore, I apologize because I did not comply with the rules of objectivity in covering this topic,” Solovyov said.

Earlier, on his Telegram channel, Solovyov had an interview with the so-called Foreign Minister of "Nagorno-Karabakh" David Babayan, which caused the Azerbaijani side’s indignation.