The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry announced on Tuesday the summoning of the acting ambassadors of the United States and Germany, as well as the ambassador of France, to its headquarters.
According to the ministry’s statement, the diplomats were informed during the meetings that the news portal “Abzas Media” engaged in illegal financial operations involving organizations registered in these countries.
Furthermore, the embassies of these countries were also implicated in this activity.
The statement elaborated that the U.S. International Development Agency, “FreedomNow” organization, the New Democracy Fund, among others, were involved in transferring financial resources illegally to Azerbaijan.
These transfers, violating grant-giving rules, constituted illegal contributions to the activities of “Abzas Media.”
The Azerbaijani legislation on grant activities and agreements stipulates that grant agreements must be registered with the state according to relevant procedures.
Allocating funds to unregistered projects is considered a serious violation of the country’s laws.
Additionally, in line with international practices and Azerbaijani law on media, it was noted that funding local media subjects by foreign individuals, legal entities, or state institutions of foreign countries is prohibited.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry’s statement emphasized that the unlawful actions of the mentioned countries’ embassies and their organizations on Azerbaijani territory constitute a violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The Azerbaijani side vehemently condemned this activity, which contradicts the nation’s laws and aims at interfering in Azerbaijan’s internal affairs.
The ministry highlighted that Azerbaijan reserves the right to take appropriate measures in accordance with national legislation regarding these incidents.
