Armenia highly appreciated U.S., French rejection of Azerbaijan invitation to visit Shushi

Armenia highly appreciates the stance of the French and United States ambassadors for rejecting the Azerbaijani government’s invitation to visit Shushi, the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vahan Hunanyan said in response to a query from Armenpress.

Question: Recently, a conference was held in Shushi with the participation of foreign diplomats and representatives of international organizations accredited in Azerbaijan. What would you comment on in this regard?

Answer: We reiterate our position regarding the inadmissibility of unilateral visits to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh. We are convinced that the population of Nagorno-Karabakh should be involved in the programs of international cooperation and support. At the same time, we highly appreciate the position of those countries which, having a deep understanding of the conflict, refused to participate in such unilateral action.

The Azeri government said that the French and United States ambassadors to Azerbaijan have ignored their invitation to visit Shushi for an event. Azeri president Ilham Aliyev’s Assistant Hikmet Hajiyev described the rejection as “disrespect towards Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity”, adding that the American and French sides consider the conflict to be unresolved.