MINGECEVIR, Azerbaijan (Sputnik) – Azerbaijani presidential assistant Hikmet Hajiyev told Germany’s Bild newspaper that President Ilham Aliyev was not giving interviews to tabloids.
On Wednesday, Bild’s acting editor-in-chief Paul Ronzheimer wrote on his Twitter page that Aliyev had agreed to do an interview with Bild about the situation in Azerbaijan’s conflict-torn region of Nagorno-Karabakh, but later decided not to do that. The reporter asked the Azerbaijani president what he was afraid of.
“@ronzheimer please be informed that no one has given any consent to give interview to BILD. Your statement on behalf of Azerbaijani Gov is unprofessional. My President @presidentaz prefers to give interview to professional media not 'yellow media outlets,'” Hajiyev wrote on his Twitter page on late Wednesday.
The fighting on the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh started on 27 September. The sides have accused each other of starting the firing. The international community strongly condemned the escalation and called on parties to settle the differences via dialogue, while Turkey has pledged its full support for Azerbaijan.
Yerevan and Baku have signed two ceasefire agreements, but both of them collapsed soon after entering into force. Within the past several days, the Azerbaijani troops managed to make significant achievements on the southern flank.