Azerbaijan criticizes Russia’s Tass

(MENAFN) Azerbaijan has condemned the Russian state news outlet Tass for what it considers a serious affront to the country’s territorial integrity. On Thursday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada issued a statement criticizing Tass for using the name "Stepanakert" instead of "Khankendi" when referring to a city in Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region.

According to Hajizada, using names linked to the now-defunct separatist regime is offensive and unacceptable. He urged Russia to stop mislabeling Azerbaijani geographic names and to refrain from employing terms associated with separatist entities.

“If this behavior continues,” Hajizada warned, “Azerbaijan may begin referring to various locations in Russia by their historical names, in line with the principle of reciprocity.”

He further demanded that Tass issue an apology and correct the terminology in question, warning that failure to do so could lead to legal actions affecting the agency’s activities in Azerbaijan.

As of now, neither Tass nor Russian officials have responded to Baku’s statement.

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