Two foreign citizens excluded from “undesirable persons” list
A citizen of the United Arab Emirates, Ibrahim Ahmed Mohammed Abdalla, addressed a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for a removal of his name from the “List of foreign citizens illegally visited the occupied territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan”, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a message.
In his letter, Ibrahim Ahmed Mohammed Abdalla, noted that he travelled to Nagorno-Karabakh in 2015 and was unaware about the consequences of that visit. He underlined that this visit in no way means disrespect for the Azerbaijan Republic and its people.
Ibrahim Ahmed Mohammed Abdalla reaffirming his full respect to the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan within its internationally recognized borders, its laws and regulations, expressed his apology to the Azerbaijani government and people for an unauthorized visit to the occupied territories.
Expressing regrets for this visit Ibrahim Ahmed Mohammed Abdalla mentioned that his visit to the territories occupied by Armenia in no way served for the promotion of illegal regime established in the seized lands of Azerbaijan.
Furthermore, he attested that he would refrain from such visits to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in the future and asked for permission to visit Azerbaijan in the future.
Following this appeal, the decision to remove his name from the list was made.
Earlier, Harizs Egliens, a citizen of Latvia and an employee of the IMPRO Travels LTD, also sent a letter to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, asking to exclude him from the list of foreigners who illegally visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
Harizs Egliens also said he was not informed about the consequences of the visit, further underlining that the visit does not mean disrespect for Azerbaijan and the Azerbaijani people.
He noted that he respects the laws, territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan in the framework of internationally recognized borders, and apologized to the government and people of Azerbaijan for traveling to the occupied territories.
Expressing his regret in connection with the visit, Egliens stressed that the visit to the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia doesn't in any way serve the purpose of encouraging the illegal regime established in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.
In his letter, Egliens also emphasized that in the future, he will refrain from such visits and asked for permission to visit Azerbaijan in the future.
Visiting Nagorno-Karabakh and other occupied Azerbaijani territories without agreement of the Azerbaijani side is considered illegal.
Earlier, the spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, Hikmat Hajiyev, said that the number of illegal visits to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan has significantly decreased. He noted that such visits have decreased after Azerbaijan launched its “undesirable persons” list, and has taken measures related to the issue.
Names of any individuals paying unauthorized visits to NagornoKarabakh and other regions of Azerbaijan occupied by Armenia are included in the Foreign Ministry’s list of “undesirable persons.” The ministry and diplomatic missions pay special attention to the illegal activity in the occupied areas of the country.
Baku has repeatedly warned foreign officials and diplomats of illegality of visits to its territories that are occupied by Armenia, calling them contradictory to international law. The work is constantly carried out to prevent such illegal actions.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding regions.