The Nagorno Karabakh Republic participated at the International Tourism Fair in Milan with a separate booth this year. The four-member delegation was headed by Sergey Shahverdyan, Head of the Department of Tourism under the NKR Government, Pyunik Information center reports.
The Azerbaijan booth was placed next to that of Nagorno Karabakh. A few hours after the start of the exhibition one of the members of the Azerbaijani delegation declared that participation of Nagorno Karabakh in the exhibition with a separate booth does not correspond to international legal norms. He demanded from the delegation to leave the booth and stop distributing information about Karabakh.
The same night the Azerbaijanis entered the NKR booth, stole the booklets and the big stand reading “Mountainous Karabakh.”
Armenian Honorary Council Pietro Kochukian and head of the Karabakh delegation Sergey Shahverdyan applied to the manager of the exhibition with a request to prevent the future assaults.
The next day organizers of the event met with the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations. Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Italy was present at the meeting.
The Azerbaijanis were demanding to close the NKR booth, noting that it contradicts international law. The organizers of the expo said, in response, that Azerbaijan has not chosen the proper place for such discussions and added that the country will not be invited to participate in the event next year if the behavior continues.
The next day Azerbaijan launched anti-Armenian propaganda, and the Armenian delegation took measures to counter it.
