MOSCOW, Russia (A.W.)— On July 5, Russia’s Foreign Ministry demanded Azerbaijani authorities to stop discriminating against Russian citizens with Armenian surnames arriving in the country.
On July 5, Russia’s Foreign Ministry demanded Azerbaijani authorities to stop discriminating against Russian citizens with Armenian surnames arriving in the country.
“We have to state that Russian citizens arriving in Azerbaijan are indeed subject to discrimination on ethnic grounds,” the Ministry said in a statement.
The Azerbaijani government has long maintained a travel ban for not only Armenia’s citizens but also ethnic Armenians from other countries. The country considers any Armenian presence in Azerbaijani a security risk and an insult to the country’s honor and territorial integrity.
Citing the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russian-based TASS news reported that 25 Russian citizens with Armenian surnames have been detained and subsequently deported after attempting to enter Azerbaijan in the past year. According to the TASS report, Azerbaijani authorities detained the Armenians for several hours—in some cases without providing them with food, water, and medical assistance—and then expelled them at their own expense.
The authorities cited the citizens’ Armenian surnames as the reason for the move,
but there were also cases where individuals with traditional Russian names suspected of having Armenian ancestors were also interrogated by officials.
The Ministry said that it has repeatedly demanded in official requests that Russia stop this practice, but that they have been told by Azerbaijan that the travel ban is necessary to avoid “undesirable incidents.” The Ministry considered the explanation unsatisfactory.
Source: Armenian Weekly
Link: Russia Criticizes Azerbaijan’s Travel Ban on Armenians from Russia