Azerbaijan–Germany: A visit shadowed by controversy | News.az

By Tural Heybatov A controversy that erupted on the eve of the German President’s visit to Azerbaijan somewhat clouded the diplomatic atmosphere. How the flag of the defunct separatist regime ended up on Frank-Walter Steinmeier’s social media page remains a mystery. Questions also remain regarding the longer duration of the German President’s visit to Armenia compared to Azerbaijan, along with several other issues. These matters were likely raised in Baku, albeit behind closed doors.The Office of the Federal President of Germany issued an apology for the provocations, attributing them to a technical error. This explanation is sufficient to consider the incident resolved.What truly matters is that, while in Baku, President Steinmeier made an unequivocal statement affirming that Karabakh is Azerbaijan—a clear and direct position of official Berlin. “We have always said that this is your [Azerbaijani] territory, and today we reaffirm Germany’s clear and direct stance,” the German Presiden...