On March 31, Ralf Horlemann, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Germany to Azerbaijan, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where a strong protest was expressed regarding a post made on the official Instagram channel of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier during his visit to Armenia.

During the meeting, the Azerbaijani side condemned the publication of the flag of the former separatist Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. The post was described as an open political provocation that violated Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. The German side was urged to issue a public apology, as the post contradicted Germany’s declared support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity while also undermining the ongoing peace process. Furthermore, the Ministry criticized the post for referencing the Armenian residents of the Karabakh region while disregarding the rights of forcibly displaced Azerbaijanis, calling it an example of bias.

It was emphasized that the nearly 30-year-long conflict had been resolved through military and political means, restoring Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity. The Azerbaijani side also stressed that no administrative unit called "Nagorno-Karabakh" exists within Azerbaijan and urged against the use of politically motivated or misleading terminology.

Following immediate contacts between the Presidential offices and Foreign Ministries of both countries, the German side admitted that the post was published due to a technical mistake and was swiftly retracted. A letter from Dr. Dörte Dinger, the Head of the Office of the President of Germany, addressed to Hikmet Hajiyev, the Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, expressed apologies for the incident and confirmed that Germany's position on Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity remained unchanged. The letter stated:

"For a short period of time, the wrong depiction of a flag and the accompanying text in reference to a region of Azerbaijan were published on the Federal President's social media. Once the mistake was detected, the post was immediately retracted. The post was published due to a technical mistake and bears no significance with regard to Germany's well-known position on the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. I am very unhappy about this mistake. I would like to sincerely apologise for the wrong impression the post has created among some people in Azerbaijan. The upcoming visit of the Federal President intends to strengthen the Azerbaijan-German partnership and support the ongoing peace process in the region."

Notably, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who is currently on a regional visit, shared updates from his trip to Armenia on his Instagram story, including photos and descriptions of his activities. One of the images posted by Steinmeier featured the flag of the former separatist Karabakh, with a caption stating:

"The conflict concerns the Nagorno-Karabakh region. According to international law, the region belongs to Azerbaijan, but a majority of Armenians have lived there. Over the past decades, armed conflicts have occurred repeatedly."