Azerbaijan may 'blacklist' Members of U.S. Congress for visiting Karabakh

PanARMENIAN.Net - The U.S. Congresspeople who visited Nagorno Karabakh on Wednesday, September 20 may be 'blacklisted' by Azerbaijan.

Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and House Foreign Affairs Committee member Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) traveled to Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) on Wednesday, September 20, where, alongside government officials and ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian, they witnessed firsthand the independent Republic’s remarkable economic, democratic, and cultural progress.

"The issue of the illegal visit of members of the U.S. House of Representatives Frank Pallone and Tulsi Gabbard to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is under investigation," Azerbainan's state-run APA news agency cited a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.

"Once the probe is over, appropriate steps will be taken."

Representatives Pallone and Gabbard visited Artsakh’s cultural and religious centers in Shushi and capital, Stepanakert, then addressed members of Parliament. Joining them on their visit were Robert Avetisyan, Permanent Representative of the Artsakh Republic to the U.S., Maria Mehranian, President of the Armenia Fund, and Anthony Barsamian, Co-Chair of the Armenian Assembly of America.