Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Denounces Armen Grigoryan's Visit to Separatist Nagorno-Karabakh
On September 2, Armen Grigoryan, the Secretary of Armenia's Security Council, paid a visit to separatist Nagorno-Karabakh. Grigoryan said on Facebook, "I visited the Stepanakert memorial-pantheon and laid flowers at the pedestal of the monument honoring the warriors who perished during battles in Nagorno-Karabakh."
On September 3, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that the illegal visit of the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia Armen Grigoryan to the city of Khankendi [Stepanakert in Armenian] is a provocation by the Armenian side which undermines the efforts to normalize relations between the two states. "This deliberate illegal step taken by the Armenian official right after the Brussels meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia not only casts a shadow on the agreements reached during the aforementioned meeting but also clearly demonstrates that the Armenian side is not sincere in the process of normalization," the information stated. According to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, this illegal visit shows that Armenia's statements that it has no territorial claims against Azerbaijan and accepts the principles of sovereignty and state borders are far from sincere. "It is also an act of disrespect to the efforts of international mediators by official Yerevan," it stated. "We strongly condemn the provocative step of the Armenian official and emphasize that any steps taken against the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan within its international borders will be adequately responded to," the message concluded.