Sputnik, Russia
Aug 29 2018
Epic Fail: Angela Merkel Mixes Up Two Caucasian Countries (VIDEO)
© AFP 2018 / Ilmars ZNOTINS / AFP
Netizens have called out the German chancellor, who posted an Instagram story from Azerbaijan’s capital Baku during her trip to South Caucasian states but occasionally uploaded videos from Armenia’s capital, Yerevan. The two countries are involved in a long-time conflict, with hostilities having grown over the years.
A mistake in one of the stories on Angela Merkel’s Instagram account was spotted by some social media users, who recognized the skyline of Armenia's capital city, Yerevan, on a video posted by the German chancellor captioned: “Good Morning from Azerbaijan! Day Three of the Caucasian Journey.”
Although Instagram stories are deleted after 24 hours, the compromising clip is still available online as somebody copied the video and uploaded it to YouTube.
It has not been reported who exactly posted the wrong city. The gaffe was exacerbated by the fact that Armenia and Azerbaijan have been entangled in a long-standing conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. The dispute over the area, inhabited by ethnic Armenians and reclaimed by Yerevan, but belonging to Azerbaijan, has been the stimulus behind hostilities between the two countries since the collapse of the USSR.
READ MORE: German Media Deems Merkel's Caucasus Tour a 'Signal to Putin'
During her Caucasus trip, Merkel offered German assistance in resolving the conflict to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, while Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, appointed only this spring, had told the German chancellor that Armenia was ready for a peaceful settlement to the conflict.
Angela Merkel’s unprecedented trip to the South Caucasus, where she visited Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, occurred last week and triggered heated discussions in the German media, as some deemed the tour a “signal to Putin.”