The use of the 'Nagorno-Karabakh' expression by the Russian Defense Ministry in a statement regarding the sending of humanitarian aid to Ukraine is unacceptable, Ednews reports citing the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.
"There is no administrative-territorial unit called Nagorno-Karabakh on the territory of Azerbaijan. Russia has repeatedly declared its support for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and inviolability of the borders of Azerbaijan,” the ministry said.
“At the same time, this position was enshrined in the relevant documents signed between the two countries. Contrary to the official position of Russia, in the previous official statements of the Russian Defense Ministry, the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan were also mentioned under this name [Nagorno-Karabakh],” the ministry emphasized. “Such statements can damage Azerbaijani-Russian ties and lead to tension in the Azerbaijani territories where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily stationed.”
The Defense Ministry of Azerbaijan called on the Russian Ministry of Defense to stop the practice of mentioning the sovereign territories of the country under the name of administrative-territorial units that don’t exist in Azerbaijan.