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France deems Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan: envoy

8 April 2013 14:45 (UTC+04:00)
France deems Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan: envoy

By Sara Rajabova

France has said it recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent entity, but deems it a part of Azerbaijan.

French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Pascal Meunier made the statement on Monday when commenting on a recent report circulated in Armenian media about the establishment of a friendship group in the French parliament with the illegal "parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh."

The ambassador said that such an entity does not officially exist. "This is not an official friendship group, but a personal initiative of several members of parliament," he said.

Meunier stated that France respects freedom of expression, and everyone has the right to freely express their thoughts.

"Though I am familiar with those who put forward the proposal about the friendship group and respect them, this does not mean that they represent the official position of France. This is absolutely wrong," Meunier noted.

He added that there is a friendship group between France and Azerbaijan, which conducts a wide range of activities.

France is one of the co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, which is brokering the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement.

Armenia and Azerbaijan for over two decades have been locked in conflict, which emerged over Armenian territorial claims. Since the lengthy war in the early 1990s that displaced over one million Azerbaijanis, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but Armenia has not followed them to this day.

Though a fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, a peace accord has never been signed and the dispute remains unresolved. Mediators from Russia, France and the U.S. -- co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group -- have been brokering peace talks over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, but their efforts have not produced any result yet.

Peace negotiations are underway on the basis of a peace outline proposed by the Minsk Group co-chairs and dubbed the Madrid Principles, also known as Basic Principles. The document envisions a return of the territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijani control; determining the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh; a corridor linking Armenia to the region; and the right of all internally displaced persons to return home.

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