Armenia attracts visitors to the occupied territories

Making visits to occupied Azerbaijani territories without the country’s permission is violation of the law on the state borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hikmat Hajiyev said. 

Hajiyev said those who make illegal visits to occupied territories are to be put on a blacklist of undesirable persons. “This is a worldwide practice. Those who violate the rules of border crossing and other laws of any country are banned from entering this country," Trend cited Hajiyev as saying. 

"Most countries through their foreign ministries give warning in connection with such illegal visits,” he underlined. 

Hajiyev outlined that individuals who want to make a visit to the occupied territories should take their safety into account. Because a state of war is prevailing on those territories and human trafficking, arms smuggling, production and transit of narcotics, and training of terrorists are taking place there. He also said Armenia is seeking to present a different view using statistical methods.

“Analyses reveal that the majority of visitors to the occupied territories are Armenian citizens who are parents of soldiers, because of the miserable situation within the Armenian army, parents regularly carry food and medicine for their children serving in the occupied Azerbaijani territories. And the Armenian regime registers those parents for statistical data at illegal border checkpoints created in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories. Another group of visitors are Armenian diaspora members and people loyal to them. The Armenian diaspora and government allows them to make multiple visits, again to present these visits as new ones. Some other people are deceived by Armenia and taken to the occupied Azerbaijani territories for various purposes,” Hajiyev added. 

The ministry spokesman said that, due to the sharp decline in the number of visits to the occupied territories after the measures taken by the Azerbaijani side, as well as the introduction of the blacklist, Armenia has cancelled the visa registration on passports of strangers visiting these territories.