In July 2012, Karygiannis travelled to the South Caucasus region of Nagorno-Karabakh, on the invitation of the Armenian National Committee of Canada, to observe its presidential election. The Azerbaijani ambassador to Canada Farid Shafiyev criticized Karygiannis for taking sides in the conflict and "pandering to radical elements within his constituency" in chase of "ethnic votes and disregarding international law." Shafiyev also claimed Karygiannis's entry to Nagorno-Karabakh was "illegal", as he had not obtained a visa or special permission from the Azerbaijani government to travel there, and that his stay on the disputed territory was paid for by the government of Armenia. In response, Karygiannis who had been aware of Azerbaijan's objections to his visit affirmed his decision and offered to be invited to Azerbaijan as an observer for the next election, which Shafiyev turned down as unlikely, saying Karygiannis would be declared persona non grata and denied any future entry in Azerbaijan. On August 1, members of Toronto's Azeri community held a protest in front of the office of the Liberal Party about Karygiannis's visit to Nagorno-Karabakh.