Baku surprised by Russian Foreign Ministry's response to President Aliyev's statement
BAKU. Feb 16 (Interfax) - Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev said he is surprised by the Russian Foreign Ministry's response to the recent statement by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Aliyev said at a congress of the Azerbaijani ruling party on February 8 that "Yerevan is our historical land, and we, the Azerbaijanis, should return to that territory."
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing in Moscow on Thursday that such remarks by the Azerbaijani president do not help reduce tension.
"We were confused by the comment by the Russian Foreign Ministry's spokesperson on the opinion of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev," Hajiyev said.
"We believe that comments on any issue should be made with knowledge of their essence; there should be no quoting out of context, and references to the original authentic source should be given," he said.
Azerbaijan and Russia have a strategic partnership; "therefore, we believe it is wrong to comment on the president's statement in such a format," Hajiyev said.