Azerbaijan Threatens Russian State Media Over Use of Karabakh Capital’s Armenian Name
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Diverging Reports Breakdown
Azerbaijan Threatens Russian State Media Over Use of Karabakh Capital’s Armenian Name
Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry says it could take action against Russian state media. The news agency used the wrong name for the former breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The move was in response to a TASS report about the removal of a bust of an Armenian artist.
Ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada accused Russia’s state-run TASS news agency of “disrespecting and insulting” Azerbaijan by using the name Stepanakert instead of Khankendi, the Azerbaijani name for the Karabakh capital.
Baku regained full control of Nagorno-Karabakh following a military offensive in 2023, during which the region’s Armenian-majority population was forced to flee.
Hajizada singled out a TASS report published Thursday about the removal of a bust of Ivan Aivazovsky, a renowned Russian painter of Armenian origin. He claimed the monument had been “illegally” installed by Russian peacekeepers in what he called “a clear manifestation of disrespect” toward Azerbaijan.
“We expect an apology and an appropriate correction from the TASS news agency on this matter. Otherwise, in accordance with the law, relevant measures will be taken regarding TASS’s operations in Azerbaijan,” Hajizada said.