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By Sara Rajabova

A French MP has assessed the visit of the head of the separatist regime in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region to France as a diplomatic incident.

Andre Reichardt, the chairman of the France-South Caucasus friendship group in the French Senate addressed letter of protest to Laurent Fabius, France’s foreign minister and Marylise Lebranchu, minister of decentralization, administrative reform and the civil service in connection with this visit, the Azerbaijani Embassy in France said.

The head of puppet separatist regime created in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, Bako Sahakyan visited France on May 17-19 and held meetings with some officials there.

Evaluating Sahakyan’s visit as a serious diplomatic incident affecting the interests of France, Reichardt recalled that Armenia continues the occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts, i.e. 20 percent of Azerbaijani territory for over 20 years.

“An announcement by Nagorno-Karabakh, in violation of international law, its independence and the creation of "public institutions" is not recognized by any state, even by Armenia,” the senator said.

Considering that France is one of the countries-co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk group, its behavior is closely watched in the region, said the letter.

"It is with the aim of observing a balance between the parties to the conflict, President Francois Hollande immediately after a visit to Yerevan on April 24 made a visit to Baku on the same day," Reichardt said.

He emphasized that "France has always recognized Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and demanded the termination of the Armenian occupation."

Reichardt stressed that the visit of the "president" of the separatist regime of Nagorno-Karabakh Sahakyan and signing of the “Charter of friendship and cooperation” with the French regions are a challenge to international law and can cause serious damage to the French-Azerbaijani relations.

“The OSCE assessment mission, which was carried out in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan in 2005 and 2010, confirmed the violation of Security Council resolutions 822, 853, 874 and 884, which require the immediate withdrawal of Armenian forces from occupied Azerbaijani territories and the return of displaced persons to their homes. Unfortunately, these resolutions remain unfulfilled to this day”, the letter said.

Reichardt further emphasized that “today, when Europe mobilized against the annexing of the Crimea, we can expect a similar reaction in relation to the Azerbaijani territories.”

He went on to say that France as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, should contribute to resolving the conflict and the restoration of Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.

The French senator also said while the heads of two countries support the widening and deepening of bilateral French-Azerbaijani relations, it would be wrong to break the balance achieved.

He said in April President Hollande and President Ilham Aliyev agreed to hold the first meeting on inter-regional cooperation.

In this regard, in his capacity as chairman of the France-South Caucasus friendship group, Reichardt demanded from the ministers to condemn these actions, verify the legitimacy of signed documents and inform him of the measures that will be taken by ministers in connection with the appeal.

Earlier, Azerbaijan voiced its objection over the visit of representatives of the separatist regime to France.

Baku sent a protest note to France in connection with the visit of the head of the separatist regime in Azerbaijan’s occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region to France.

Paris, in turn, ruled out recognizing the separatist regime of Nagorno-Karabakh, established in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.

For over two decades, Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a conflict which emerged over Armenia's territorial claims against its South Caucasus neighbor. Since a war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions.

A fragile ceasefire has been in place since 1994, but long-standing efforts by U.S, Russian and French mediators have been largely fruitless so far.

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Sara Rajabova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @SaraRajabova

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