Russian Foreign Ministry: US State Department statement on Azerbaijan is a complete nonsense

Moscow, January 13, AZERTAC "The US State Department's statement on Azerbaijan is a complete nonsense. Only people who have never been to Azerbaijan could recommend not to visit the country," spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova has told a briefing as she commented on the State Department's statement which included Azerbaijan and Russia in the list of countries the US citizens should not travel. Zakharova hailed the fact that Azerbaijan has successfully hosted international sporting and cultural events. "It seems that our Western partners think that we should always be kept in pressure. In their opinion, the hospitable states that are able to achieve something, including those who are successful in tourism, should not forget that through propaganda, and fabricated materials it is always possible to create an image of a certain hazard. Only those who have never been to Baku could write this. As a person who has repeatedly and with great pleasure travelled to Azerbaijan, Baku, and visited its historic centre, restaurants, and museums, and has a great deal of friends there, I can with my utmost sincerity say that it is just a nonsense to recommend the tourists not to visit Azerbaijan. Only those who have no idea about Azerbaijan, its culture or political realities could say this. And I doubt if they are able to indicate Azerbaijan on the map," spokesperson Zakharova said. Maria Zakharova noted that the US Department of State's recommendations cause a serious misunderstanding.