Many members of French Senate unaware war in Karabakh ended [UPDATE]

By Trend

Discussion of a draft resolution on the recognition of the so-called ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’ in the French Senate is not only lobbying the interests of Armenians, but also a form of pressure on Azerbaijan and Turkey, Trend reports.

French experts believe that the inclusion of the issue of ties with the abovementioned illegal regime into the senate's agenda will inflict a blow on France's international position and relations with Azerbaijan and Turkey.

It becomes clear from the text of the draft resolution that the authors of the draft are more concerned not with the fate of the Armenian population in Karabakh, but with the strengthening of Azerbaijan, Turkey, and their unity.

Despite the fact that the parties to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are Azerbaijan and Armenia, Turkey is often mentioned in the draft resolution.

During the resolution’s discussion, the senators weren’t allowed to speak in support of Azerbaijan’s position and demonstrate an objective approach to the issue of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Judging from the speeches, many members of the Senate aren’t even aware either of ending hostilities in the Karabakh conflict zone or achieving an agreement between the parties.

For example, Senator Stephane Ravier said that the young Armenians staying in France want to return to their homeland for fighting, and therefore it’s necessary to create conditions for their departure and that French NGOs should help them in this. Another senator even noted that the illegal regime had been functioning since 1991 "as an independent state."

This is how the French senators, who have no idea about the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, who are not informed about the current situation on the conflict, viewing over their phones throughout the meeting, adopted the biased resolution.

As earlier reported, on November 18, at the Presidium of the French Senate, a group of senators influenced by the Armenian diaspora presented a draft resolution No. 145 ‘On the need to recognize the ‘Nagorno-Karabakh Republic’, which was discussed and adopted on November 25.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, the Armenian Armed Forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts. The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations.

In 2020, the military confrontation between the occupying Armenian forces and Azerbaijan has intensified. Back in July 2020, the Armenian Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz district. As a result of Azerbaijan's retaliation, the opposing forces were silenced. The fighting continued the following days as well. Azerbaijan lost a number of military personnel members, who died fighting off the attacks of the Armenian Armed Forces.

Further, the Armenian Armed Forces launched a large-scale military attack on positions of the Azerbaijani army on the front line, using large-caliber weapons, mortars, and artillery on Sept. 27. Azerbaijan responded with a counter-offensive along the entire front.

Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by the Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM, and the president of Russia.

A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict were introduced at 00:00 hours (Moscow time) on 10 November 2020.

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