US State Department “officially registers” Karabakh mission – Azeri paper
Ekspress, Baku
30 Jul 04
Excerpt from report by Hasan Agacan in Azerbaijani newspaper Ekspress
on 30 July headlined “Separatists’ embassy’ is granting visas” and
subheaded ” The diplomatic mission’ of Nagornyy Karabakh’s separatist
regime in Washington has been officially registered at the US State
Department”
The “embassy” of Nagornyy Karabakh’s separatist regime in the USA
yesterday 29 July announced the beginning of “a normal working
regime”. The new “embassy”, which has been located in two rooms of the
Armenian embassy in the USA until recently, has acquired a new
building for itself in Washington.
Passage omitted: details of report from the Armenian press
We obtained another report yesterday that “the embassy of Nagornyy
Karabakh” had been officially registered at the US State Department as
a “diplomatic representative office”. Vardan Barsegyan is the head of
this “embassy-representative office”, Sarkis Kotanchyan and Armen
Kanayan are its main employees.
The separatists’ representative office in Washington also started
granting “visas” to the US citizens who want to visit Nagornyy
Karabakh. For example, the Americans can get a visa for seven or 21
days. The seven-day visa costs 25 dollars, while the 21-day visa costs
35-45 dollars “depending on terms”. In addition, there is a two-dollar
“consular fee”.
US citizens, who want to get “a Nagornyy Karabakh visa”, are advised
to bring a photograph and a foreign passport to Xankandi’s Stepanakert
“embassy” in Washington.
Nagornyy Karabakh’s “Foreign Ministry” has issued a statement on rules
for giving the “visas”. Citizens of Armenia, Belarus, Georgia,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan,
representatives of the international organizations operating in
Xankandi, individuals “who have received invitations from Nagornyy
Karabakh’s president, Speaker, prime minister or foreign minister” as
well as teenagers can get “the Nagornyy Karabakh visa” free of charge.