Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry comments on French FM's statement on declaration to end Karabakh war

By Trend

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has commented on the French foreign minister’s statement dated November 10, 2020, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Trend on Nov. 11.

Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Jean-Yves Le Drian’s statement regarding the declaration signed by the president of Azerbaijan, the prime minister of Armenia, and the president of Russia on the cessation of all military operations does not correspond to the mandate of France as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group and is biased.

“We would like to note that the French foreign minister, who made a statement reflecting a one-sided and openly pro-Armenian position, does not have the authority to speak on behalf of other co-chairs,” the ministry said.

“Unfortunately, over the years we have not seen that France, in accordance with its mandate, to voice the statements regarding the fulfillment of the requirements of the UN Security Council’s resolutions, for which France voted as a permanent member,” the ministry said.

“We do not remember that the French Foreign Ministry to voice any demands to put an end to the illegal presence of the Armenian Armed Forces in the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan and to return the people who were forcibly expelled from these territories to their houses,” the ministry said. “Is not France interested in gross violation of the fundamental human rights of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis as a result of the conflict [the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict]?!”

“France must not worry about Azerbaijan's efforts, fully based on the principles of international law, to ensure the country's territorial integrity within the international borders and restore human rights of over a million Azerbaijanis,” the statement said.

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 is introduced at 00:00 hours (Moscow time) on 10 November 2020.

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.

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.

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.

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