Daniil Galitsky exclusively to Vestnik Kavkaza
The recent scandal over the visit by famous Spanish opera singer Montserrat Caballé has finally been commented on by the Spanish side. A concert of Montserrat Caballé in Yerevan and Nagorno-Karabakh was announced in May. Representatives of the diplomatic mission of Azerbaijan called to the administration and managers of the singer and explained the possible consequences of this event. Considering the official position of Azerbaijan on the issue, foreign citizens who visit the occupied territories of the state are thought to be undesirable persons and get blacklisted.
Baku has many times stated that such visits undertaken without informing the Azerbaijani side are illegal and negatively influence the process of settling the Karabakh conflict. The administration of the singer promised that madam Caballé would perform only in the capital of Armenia and have no intention to visit Karabakh. However, on June 4th the singer visited the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, Susha, the Kazachantsots Cathedral and the monastery complex of Noravak; she also met the head of the regime Bako Saakyan.
Responding to this behavior which contradicts the official position of Azerbaijan, the diplomatic mission of the republic sent a note of protest to Spain on June 5th and emphasized that the singer would probably not get a visa to Azerbaijan in the future. The answer was received on June 12: it said that the visit to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan by opera singer Montserrat Caballé was her personal initiative and didn’t reflect the official position of Spain. The Foreign Minister of Spain emphasized that Spain recognized territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and supported the efforts by the international society on peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Montserrat Caballé also met President of Armenia Serge Sargsyan. He awarded Caballé with the Medal of Honor, telling her that the Medal is awarded for protection of state and national interests of Armenia and improving peace between nations. Montserrat Caballé herself hasn’t commented on the situation yet, which touched on direct relations between foreign ministries of Azerbaijan and Spain, but she stated at her concert that she was the UN goodwill ambassador and the UNESCO peace ambassador, even though she was in Nagorno-Karabakh as a singer.
The story can seriously influence the general image of the state in eyes of the European society. This variant of developments is the most undesirable for Azerbaijan, especially now when the country makes a big step in the world cultural arena. On the other hand, Azerbaijan firmly stands for its official position, making no exceptions even for such a grand cultural figure as Montserrat Caballé.
