The UK’s online newspaper Independent published the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s response to the newspaper’s 20 April article titled “Football and hope in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic - a forgotten region fighting Fifa's sanctions”.
Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson Hikmat Hajiyev in his comments, published in the UK newspaper, stated that The Independent’s recent article distorted the real situation in the region.
“Sports and football should be kept away from politics. Reference in the article to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan as “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” is contrary to the norms and principles of international law, while reflecting views of only the Armenian side in this matter does not fit in the context of fair and objective journalism,” Hajiyev said.
The reality is Armenia occupied sovereign territories of Azerbaijan by force and established an illegal puppet regime there, reads the article.
Four resolutions of the UN Security Council reaffirm the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan, condemn Armenian occupation and demand immediate, unconditional and full withdrawal of occupying forces from all seized lands, according to Hajiyev.
“As a result of Armenia’s occupation Qarabag football club is perhaps the only football club in the world in asylum. The club is not a political chess piece for Azerbaijan, as wrongly argued by your writer. We hope that peace will prevail in the region again and Azerbaijani and Armenian communities of Nagorno-Karabakh, within Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, will enjoy Qarabag’s football games in the future,” said Hajiyev.
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