A peace accord between Armenia and Azerbaijan must contain firm security guarantees for Nagorno-Karabakh’s ethnic Armenian population, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said late on Thursday.
Colonna and her Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoyan discussed ongoing Armenian-Azerbaijani talks on such a treaty in a phone call.
“The Minister confirmed France’s full mobilization in support of the negotiations under way between Armenia and Azerbaijan on all outstanding issues,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement on the call.
“She emphasized that only an agreement that respects international law, guaranteeing the opportunity for the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to continue living there with their rights and culture respected, could lead to a just and lasting peace between the two countries,” added the statement.
Armenia maintains that such guarantees should be worked out through an “international mechanism” for a dialogue between the Azerbaijani government and Karabakh’s leadership. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said late last week that Baku and Yerevan continue to disagree on this issue. Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said earlier that his government will not agree to any special arrangements for the rights and security of the Karabakh Armenians.
In recent months, Baku has repeatedly accused France’s President Emmanuel Macron and other officials of siding with Armenia in the conflict. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev charged on Monday that Paris is fomenting “Armenian separatism” in Karabakh.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan rejected the Azerbaijani criticism and praised France on Thursday, saying that he hopes more countries will follow its example.
“The [Azerbaijani] propaganda against France is aimed at preventing other countries from adequately assessing the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said.
Pashinyan himself has been accused by his domestic political opponents of jeopardizing Karabakh’s security with his recent pledge to recognize Azerbaijani sovereignty over the region.
Source : Asbarez