Azeri-Press news agency (APA) Azerbaijan
 Thursday


Azerbaijan sends protest note to Canada over MPs' illegal trip to
Nagorno-Karabakh



The Embassy of Azerbaijan in Canada has sent a note of protest to the
Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada over
the illegal visit of two Canadian MPs -Tony Clement and Rachel Harder
- to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan on September 2, 2017, the
spokesman for Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, Hikmat Hajiyev, told APA.

The abovementioned Canadian MPs were included in the list of
undesirable persons of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, said the
spokesman.

According to Hajiyev, the response note received from the Department
of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development reaffirmed that Canada
recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, including
Azerbaijan's sovereignty over the occupied region of Nagorno-Karabakh
and the seven surrounding districts.

'It also states that Canada does not recognize the 'Nagorno-Karabakh
Republic' or its 'officials' and that the Government of Canada
continues to support the OSCE Minsk Group process as the best means
for the peaceful resolution of the conflict," he said.

In its response, the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and
Development of Canda said the two Canadian MPs did not visit
Azerbaijan's occupied territories on behalf of the Canadian
government, and the government was not informed in advance of this
plan, added Hajiyev.

The response note also says that Canada is aware of Azerbaijan's
policy on entry to Nagorno-Karabakh and the seven surrounding
districts and for this reason calls on its citizens to refrain from
traveling to the occupied territories, said the spokesman.