Russia Calls Azerbaijani Media to Stop Propaganda

• 04.25.2017, 18:48
•  Region,  World,  NKR

mid.ru

Below is the full text of the Deputy Director of the Information and Press Department Artyom Kozhin to a media question regarding Russian citizen Dilgam Askerov who is imprisoned in the Artsakh Republic for a murder.

Question: It has been said regarding Russian citizen Alexander Lapshin that the Foreign Ministry is monitoring the situation and is taking measures to protect his rights. We would like to ask in this context about the measures the Foreign Ministry is taking to protect Russian citizen Dilgam Askerov, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by an illegitimate court in the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic in December 2014.

Artyom Kozhin: It is gratifying that the Azerbaijani media continue to monitor our efforts to protect Russian citizens. I assure you that the Russian Foreign Ministry has been working consistently to protect the legitimate interests of all Russian citizens irrespective of their ethnic origin.

As you know, the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone is among the places which we caution Russian citizens not to go to. This recommendation has been posted on the ministry’s consular website. At the same time, we are against presenting peaceful visits to any regions by journalists or private individuals as a crime.

Regarding Dilgam Askerov, we have to say that he disregarded this recommendation, just as Alexander Lapshin later did. Since the Russian authorities do not monitor the movement of Russian citizens beyond the borders of Russia, there are some information gaps concerning this case. For example, we don’t know for sure whether Baku knew about Askerov’s plans to visit the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. However, it is a fact that we received a copy of Askerov’s passport after his arrest in Nagorno-Karabakh from the Azerbaijani authorities. Likewise, I cannot say confidently that Askerov was encouraged to disregard the ministry’s recommendation. How did he manage to cross the carefully guarded contact line?

If the Azerbaijani media, including the semi-official online news resource Haqqin, are sincerely concerned about Dilgam Askerov, they should above all stop the propaganda ballyhoo around his case. It is seriously hindering our efforts to ease the condition of this Russian citizen for humanitarian considerations.