Baku condemns burning of Turkish flag in Armenia

Azerbaijan on Friday strongly condemned the burning of Türkiye's flag in Armenia's capital Yerevan during a torchlight procession on April 23.

In a statement, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry urged Armenia to hold those responsible accountable.

"Such acts, which are a clear manifestation of a revanchist and ethnic hatred-based fascist mindset in Armenia, should be condemned and prevented at the international level," it said.

Baku added that the Armenian government should have prevented the incident and taken appropriate security measures, describing it as a campaign "embodied in ethnic hatred."

"It is completely unacceptable to turn a blind eye to such unacceptable acts under the pretext of democratic norms, freedom of assembly, and freedom of expression," the ministry said.

Earlier on Thursday, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan also condemned the burning of the Turkish flag, describing the act as provocative and tension-inducing behavior, state news agency Armenpress reported.

Citing Pashinyan, his press secretary, Nazeli Baghdasaryan, said such behavior was irresponsible and unacceptable, adding that burning the flag of an internationally recognized state, particularly a neighboring country, cannot be justified.

The incident comes amid ongoing efforts by Armenia and Türkiye to normalize relations.