Azerbaijan blacklists Russian female politicians, activists for visiting Artsakh
The Foreign Ministry of Azerbaijan has banned several Russian female politicians and activists from entering the country after they visited Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), TASS reports, citing the ministry's press service.
The list includes among others first deputy chairperson of the Duma international affairs committee Svetlana Zhurova, writer Lyudmila Ulitskaya and the founder of Vera Hospice Charity Fund, Nyuta Federmesser. They visited Artsakh within the framework of the Women for Peace initiative of Armenian prime minister’s wife, Anna Pashinyan, the press service said.
"Svetlana Zhurova, Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Anna Federmesser and some others were blacklisted for breach of republic’s legislation - for an illegal visit to occupied territories of Azerbaijan," it said.
Also on the list are head of the Volunteers Helping Orphans charity Yelena Alshanskaya, journalists Katerina Gordeyeva and Kira Altman, director of the DreamSki foundation Olga Shilova.
Earlier, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry warned it would blacklist the Russian women visiting Nagorno Karabakh together with the wife of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.