Official Baku comments on Nagorno Karabakh's President Bako Sahakyan's visit to Brussels.
"The visit to Brussels of Bako Sahakyan, is nothing but a tourist trip. While in Brussels, this man had a private meeting with Els Van Hoof, head of the friendship group with Armenia in the Belgian Federal Parliament, and his old friend Karl Vanlouwe, who is a member of the local Flemish legislative body", Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, said, APA reports. Hajiyev recalled that Karl Vanlouwe has made several "illegal" visits to Nagorno-Karabakh, and thus his name has been included in the list of undesirable persons of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry.
In response to the protest of the Azerbaijani Embassy in the Kingdom of Belgium, the Belgian parliament and the Flemish legislative body have assured those meetings were individual and not official, according to Hajiyev. According to the spokesman, Bako Sahakyan, having the Armenian diplomatic passport, provided false information about his identity and place of residence while obtaining a Schengen visa.
"What's discontent is that Eastern Partnership countries impose sanctions on such persons when issuing Schengen visas, however, despite the fact that Bako Sahakyan submitted false information and fake documents, a Schengen visa was issued to him," he added. This once again proves that the Armenian side, instead of starting substantive negotiations upon the agreement reached in Vienna and taking steps to change the unacceptable status quo, is trying to harm the negotiation process on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, APA quotes Hajiyev as saying.
To recall, on June 7 the delegation at the head of Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan arrived in Belgium with a working visit. On June 8 the President met in Brussels with Els Van Hoof, head of the friendship group with Armenia in the Belgian Federal Parliament and a group of parliamentarians. On June 8 Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan visited the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Brussels. On June 10 Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan held a meeting with Belgian academic circles in the "Foundation Universitaire" organization.