President Hollande to press ahead peaceful settlement of Nagorno-Karabakh conflict
By Nigar Orujova
The main purpose of the French president's visit to Azerbaijan is to support the peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Pascal Meunier made the remark on April 4.
President Francois Hollande's visit to Azerbaijan is of great political importance, the French president will visit Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia, he said.
"I think that the conflict settlement will create more opportunities for both parties. This is a sovereign region, which can shape its future itself. We support peace and friendship between the countries of the region," Meunier said.
President Hollande will pay an official visit to Azerbaijan this year at the invitation of his Azerbaijani counterpart. However, there is no information about the exact date of the visit.
Francois Hollande confirmed his intention to visit Azerbaijan at a meeting with Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Elchin Amirbayov.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan.
Since a 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.
Long-standing efforts by US, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.
The UN Security Council has passed four resolutions on Armenian withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.