No:040/25, Response by Aykhan Hajizada, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to local media inquiry on anti-Azerbaijan statements of a Russian State Duma member and the measures to be taken in this regard
Question: Recently, while speaking on the issue of the closure of the Russian information and cultural center, “Russian House,” which is the representative office of the “Rossotrudnichestvo” agency in Azerbaijan, Russian State Duma member Nikolai Valuev voiced offensive statements against the Azerbaijani people and our country. How would you comment on this person's views? Are there any plans to take measures against him?
Answer: The offensive statements against Azerbaijan and our people made by Nikolai Valuev, the First Deputy Chairman of the Tourism Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, and his threatening remarks against our country are absolutely unacceptable.
Due to the statements made by this deputy against Azerbaijan, his name has been added to the list of individuals banned from entering the Republic of Azerbaijan, and a ban has been imposed on his entry.
Overall, we would like to state that this is not the first case of members of the Russian State Duma being included in the list of 'personae non gratae’. Previously, as an example, Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the CIS Affairs Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, and Vitaly Milonov, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Family Protection, who have acted against Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity, were also included in the relevant list as 'personae non gratae' in Azerbaijan.
We must regretfully note that all of these deputies who have acted against our country, are members of Russia's ruling party, 'United Russia' (Yedinaya Rossiya).
Appropriate steps will continue to be taken within the framework of our country's legislation against individuals who act against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and people of Azerbaijan.