Azerbaijan "expressed deep concern" over the event, warning it "can have a negative impact on our bilateral relations," an official of the embassy told BNS on Wednesday. Nagorno Karabakh's foreign minister was present at the event at the Lithuanian parliament.
"All these territories are under the occupation by Armenian military forces. Any actions without the consent of the Republic of Azerbaijan is regarded as a violation of sovereignty and territorial integrity," the official of the embassy told BNS on condition of anonymity.
"We expressed our deep concern and requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to clarify the issue. We also informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that these kind of actions can have a negative impact on our bilateral relations," said the Azerbaijani diplomat.
In his words, the note was handed personally by Ambassador Hasan Mammadzada.
One of the organizers of the Tuesday's event at the parliament, Liberal MP Dalia Kuodytė, told BNS that the conference was intended to mark 25 years of Armenia's independence.
In her words, the foreign minister of the unrecognized state of Nagorno Karabakh was invited by the Lithuania-Armenia Forum, which, among others, includes Lithuanian parliamentarians and public organizations.
"He did not come here to start diplomatic relations. The person was here to attend the conference. If we start talking about barring people from coming to events, how different will we be from Belarus?" Kuodytė said.
She said the decision to invite the official had to do with the fact that Armenia's "path to independence started with the movement for Karabakh."
The MP said the parliamentary group for friendship with Nagorno Karabakh was established "for contacts and probably start of some relations, maybe cultural projects." Kuodytė said at least 10 parliamentarians would participate in the group.
With support from Armenia's capital Yerevan, ethnic Armenian separatists took control over Nagorno Karabakh during the war in the 1990s, which killed about 30,000 people. No countries have recognized Nagorno Karabakh's independence, the international community deems the region part of Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly threatened to get back the control over Nagorno Karabakh by force.
