The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan has protested against the display of a distorted map of Azerbaijan in the “Vremya pokazhet” program broadcast on Russia’s state television channel “Channel One Russia.”
Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada, responding to a question from local media, said that the inclusion of the term “Nagorno-Karabakh” on the map of Azerbaijan in the broadcast aired on May 6 was a “serious provocation and unacceptable political manipulation.”
According to him, Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity have been fully restored, and this situation is recognized by the international community, including Russia.
“Despite Russia’s repeated statements expressing respect for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, the dissemination of outdated and separatism-promoting narratives on state television is contrary to the spirit of Azerbaijan-Russia relations,” Hajizada said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs representative added that such an approach by state media organizations is unacceptable, and the Azerbaijani side expects clarification from Russia, as well as steps to prevent the recurrence of such incidents.
The issue came to attention after a program aired on Russia’s Channel One on May 6 showed a distorted map of Azerbaijan, where a territory labeled “Nagorno-Karabakh” was marked.
The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan began in 1988. In September 2020, after a long-standing ceasefire, a 44-day Second Karabakh War took place between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Azerbaijan regained control over part of Karabakh and seven surrounding districts.
On 19 September 2023, Azerbaijan conducted a local military operation in Karabakh. On 15 October, President Ilham Aliyev raised the Azerbaijani flag in Khankendi and stated in his speech that Azerbaijan had fully restored its sovereignty, the Karabakh issue was resolved, and the conflict had ended.
Last year on 8 August, the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia initialed a peace agreement in Washington.
