Turan news agency, Azerbaijan
March 18 2013

Azerbaijan sends protest note to Lithuania over group with breakaway region

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has sent a note of protest to
Lithuania over the latter’s initiative to create a parliamentary
friendship group with Azerbaijan’s breakaway Nagornyy Karabakh region,
Baku-based private Turan news agency reported on 19 March.

Deputy Foreign Ministry Xalaf Xalafov received Lithuanian ambassador
to Azerbaijan Arturas Zhurauskas on 18 March where he expressed
Azerbaijan’s concern over the issue and said that the establishment of
ties with Azerbaijan’s “occupied territory is a violation of not only
the Azerbaijani laws but of international laws as well,” Turan
reported.

“Azerbaijan views this [act] as a violation of its territorial
integrity and sovereignty of the country; the support for separatism
and disrespect for the principles of international law,” Turan quoted
the Foreign Ministry’s press release as saying.

For his turn, ambassador Arturas Zhurauskas said that the initiative
to create a friendship group with Nagornyy Karabakh does not reflect
the official position of the Seimas [parliament] and the government of
Lithuania, Turan reported.

[Translated from Russian]

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress