Azernews.Az

BAKU – France's National Assembly President Bernard Accoyer has said he was unaware of a recent visit by a group of the country’s lawmakers to the Armenia-occupied Upper (Nagorno) Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

Accoyer made the statement in response to an appeal from the Azerbaijani embassy in France, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry said.

The French assembly chairman said he had learnt about the visit, arranged by MP Francois Rochebloine, only after the embassy’s letter was received and this was not an official mission but a private visit. Accoyer added that the mission had not been financed by the French National Assembly.

Accoyer also said the informal positions of some lawmakers could not compromise the efforts of France, which continues to seek a peaceful settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Upper (Nagorno) Karabakh as part of the mediating OSCE Minsk Group.

Nagorno Karabakh is an Azerbaijani region occupied by Armenia since a 1994 cease-fire ended a war that killed an estimated 30,000 people and ousted about one million Azerbaijanis from their homes. The mediating Minsk Group is co-chaired by the United States, Russia and France.