Azernews.Az

A leading Armenian diaspora group in France has reportedly tersely responded to a recent statement by Bernard Fassier, the outgoing French co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

Ay Dat claimed in a statement that Fassier had expressed a biased stance on the long-standing conflict and the French government must now clarify it, Armenian media reported.

"In this connection, Ay Dat appeals to France’s Foreign Ministry, demanding to arrange a meeting with Minister Alain Juppe in order to bring clarity to the issue [Fassier’s remarks], which has sparked anger and concern of the Armenian community."

Fassier said during a conference on the Karabakh conflict in the French Senate last week, "Certainly, I myself understand Azerbaijan’s grief, its territories are occupied. As a Frenchman, I know what occupation is, too".

Azerbaijan and Armenia fought a lengthy war in the early 1990s. About 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory has been under the occupation of Armenian armed forces since a ceasefire was signed in 1994. Peace talks, brokered by the United States, Russia and France through the Minsk Group, have been largely fruitless so far.