Azerbaijan has a whole new reason for a Karabakh-related hysteria. As Azeri media reported on Wednesday, September 11, “Foreign Ministry is investigating information concerning an Italian company’s intention to start operations in Karabakh,” with “Azerbaijani embassy in Italy instructed accordingly.”

According to Armenian media reports, an unnamed Italian company is planning to form a light industry cluster in Nagorno Karabakh to work for Versace, with the company representatives to travel to Stepanakert September 11 to familiarize themselves with work conditions.

As expected, Azeri journalists asked Versace representative in Azerbaijan, Ramin Movsumov for comments, in hopes that the info above will be refuted. The journalists, however, were disappointed by Movsumov’s remarks.

As he noted in an interview with virtualaz.org, Versace is an Italian company which can choose to open representations in any country of the world (Azeri media marked the word ‘country’ in capital letters.).

“I see nothing that would contradict Azerbaijani interests. As far as I know, the company is opening a boutique, rather than a plant in Stepanakert. The company president Luigi Antonini recently told me about their intention to open a representation in Yerevan,” he said.

In conclusion, he advised against mixing fashion with politics, noting that no step was taken to harm Azeri interests.

Versace representation in Azerbaijan is a part of Qarant holding owned by the son of the country’s Transportation Minister Anar Mammadov.