Azernews.Az

Pascal Monnier, the ambassador of France to Baku, said his country doesn’t recognize the “independence” of the Armenian-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

The ambassador’s comments came in the wake of remarks made by three members of the so-called France-Nagorno-Karabakh parliamentary friendship group - the senators Sophie Joissains and Michel Amiel, and the mayor of the town of Bourg-les-Valence, Marlene Mourier.

The remarks in support of the recognition of the “independence” of the separatist regime in Nagorno-Karabakh by international community were posted on the website of the French weekly magazine, L’Express.

“France does not recognize Nagorno-Karabakh’s independence and continuously supports the ongoing mediation process of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs to find a peaceful settlement to the conflict, according to the principles of international law,” Ambassador Monnier told Trend on March 6.

He said a French senator asking for recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh’s “independence”, is expressing a personal opinion that doesn’t engage the French Republic.

Monnier added that France, conforming to its position, doesn’t have any relations with the “authorities” in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The protracted conflict in Karabakh is the fruit of Armenia's military invasion in Azerbaijan's internationally recognized Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions in the early 1990s.

As a result of bloody warfare, 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory has been under Armenia's occupation for over two decades. Over a million Azerbaijanis have lived in refuge towns and camps as a result.

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