Zatulin vs Putin Russian deputy's Armenian dreams

Infamous in Azerbaijan, Russian State Duma deputy Konstantin Zatulin once again showed disrespect towards the territorial integrity of our country - he congratulated "the people of Artsakh Republic on the Republic Day".

On the letterhead of the State Duma, Konstantin Fedorovich wrote a congratulatory text in which, in particular, he delightfully noted: "I want to assure you that all caring people in Russia are rooting for peace and prosperity in Nagorno-Karabakh. The people who took up arms to defend their honour and dignity in the past have the full right to self-determination. I pray to God that everyone understands this and treats the people of Nagorno-Karabakh with respect. I wish you and the republic peace, happiness, and prosperity."

It should be noted that Zatulin, as a representative of the supreme legislative body of Russia, where he was delegated by the voters of Sochi (which, as we know, is full of Armenians), regularly allows himself harsh statements against Azerbaijan and its territorial integrity. He has long been blacklisted for repeatedly illegally visiting Azerbaijani lands previously occupied by Armenia. Persecuted from civilized society, Zatulin is nevertheless a welcome guest of the "Karabakh clan" in Armenia, where he, having drunk Armenian brandy and moonlight, likes to make speeches so pleasing for Armenians. And now, by congratulating the mythical "republic", he is obviously working off the money and efforts of Kocharyan and Sargsyan, as well as the Sochi branch of the Union of Armenians of Russia.

I wonder how such actions of a Russian deputy, moreover, from the ruling United Russia party, relate to the position of the country's top leadership. As we remember, Russian President Vladimir Putin recognises the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. "The territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan from the perspective of international law," Putin said at his annual press conference in December 2020, answering a question from TASS.

"From an international legal point of view, I also spoke about it, these all territories are an integral part of the Republic of Azerbaijan," Putin stressed. He noted that "Armenia itself has not recognised Nagorno-Karabakh's independence" and, with this in mind, "Nagorno-Karabakh is also Azerbaijan from the perspective of international law".

Quite strange, isn't it? The head of state says one thing, but an MP from the ruling party says the exact opposite. The audacity of Zatulin? Hardly. The independence of an MP? That, too, is hard to believe, given the rigid vertical power structure in Putin's Russia. Or a bad-smelling performance staged in one of the towers of the Kremlin? The same one that is sympathetic to Armenia. We will find out the answers to these questions in the near future. As we recall, Zatulin recently received a reprimand from the secretary of United Russia's general council and first deputy speaker of the Federation Council, Andrei Turchak, for the pro-Armenian MP's provocative statement on possible territorial issues with Kazakhstan. "Zatulin should have concentrated on the functions of his committee, the most important of which, on the contrary, is the strengthening of allied and good-neighbourly relations with the countries of the former USSR. He has expressed his personal opinion, which had better be rethought or at least left to himself from now on," Turchak said.

If Zatulin is not gagged and punished in Moscow for his disrespectful attitude towards the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, we think that Baku should draw appropriate conclusions from all this. After all, there is a precedent with another State Duma deputy, Mikhail Delyagin, in respect of whom the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan initiated a criminal case for his call for the destruction of energy infrastructure and oil industry in the country. He was put on the international wanted list by Interpol, with detention chosen as a measure of restraint against him. We think Zatulin's repeated attacks on Azerbaijan's territorial integrity should also result in criminal prosecution.