Envoy: France fully backs Azerbaijan, Armenia efforts to establish peace
By Sabina Mammadli
France fully supports the recent brave efforts that have been undertaken by the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders and stands ready to assist the process of establishing peace, France’s ambassador to Azerbaijan Zacharie Gross has said.
The ambassador said that there is a real possibility that a peace treaty could be negotiated between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the near future.
“Civil society can play an important role. Intelligentsia, thinkers, artists, writers, actors, businessmen, and ordinary citizens can step up the process by speaking up for peace. Women have an especially important and internationally recognized role in peace-making. Together with the European Union, France fully supports the recent brave efforts that have been undertaken by the leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia, and stands ready to assist the process of establishing peace," he added.
Gross noted that official contacts have been held, and civil society representatives have also met.
"This process allows us to be cautiously optimistic,” the ambassador said.
In his words, this is why it is important for all people of goodwill in Azerbaijan and Armenia to support the peace process.
It should be noted that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and European Council President Charles Michel met in a trilateral format in Brussels on April 6.
The meeting was held for a continuation of the discussions on the situation in the South Caucasus region and the development of EU relations with both countries.
The leaders took stock of developments since their last meeting in Brussels in December 2021 and their videoconference, together with French President Emmanuel Macron, in February 2022. They reviewed progress on the implementation of undertaken commitments. The leaders discussed the recently reported tensions and reiterated the necessity of adhering fully to the provisions of the 9/10 November 2020 trilateral statement.
Both Aliyev and Pashinyan have expressed a willingness to work quickly toward a peace agreement between their countries. To that end, it was decided to instruct foreign ministers to begin work on drafting a future peace treaty that would address all of the issues.
At the same time, it was also agreed to convene a Joint Border Commission by the end of April. The Joint Border Commission's mandate will be to: delimit the bilateral border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and ensure a stable security situation along and in the vicinity of the borderline.
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