Russian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mikhail Bocharnikov was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Baku, where he was handed a note of protest in connection with a trip to Moscow by Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) representatives, who, according to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, held meetings "with a number of representatives of Russian expert and academic centers."

The press service of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday, November 6 that Bocharnikov "stressed that Russia's position on the conflict is well known and unchanged," TASS reports.

The note was handed to the envoy to protest the visit of the Karabakh Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan and the Minister of Culture of Artsakh Lernik Hovhannisyan to Moscow.

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry argued that “such visits are invariably provocative and directed against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Azerbaijan.”

Mayilian and Hovhannisyan were in Moscow on a short working visit to attend cultural events on the occasion of the Artsakh Culture Day in Moscow on Sunday and meet with representatives of the Russian expert and academic centres on Monday.

Last Friday, Baku summoned US Ambassador in Azerbaijan Earle Litzenberger to hand him a protest note over the visit of Mayilian to the United States last week.