Less than three weeks before crucial parliamentary elections in Armenia, France embraced the Armenian prime minister, Nikol Pashinyan, who was on a short working visit to Paris. At a meeting at the Elysee Palace, France's president, Emmanuel Macron, assured Pashinyan that "France will always be at Armenia's side".
In his welcome speech, President Macron said that Armenia is currently facing a serious security crisis since the announcement of the ceasefire on November 9, which ended hostilities in Karabakh.
"Although the ceasefire is generally maintained, there is still much to do, and France is ready to fulfil its responsibility towards the people. I am talking about the release of all prisoners – prisoners of war as well as all others detained; the need to give unimpeded access to humanitarian organisations, and the serious problem of minefields. I would like to stress the need to protect the cultural heritage in and around Nagorno-Karabakh - Christian and Muslim heritage that must be protected".
"And as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, together with the United States and Russia, it is the duty of France, to do everything possible to achieve de-escalation, to establish a dialogue between the parties. I also want to talk about the recent incidents on the international border between Armenia and Azerbaijan. As I have already said, to Mr Pashinyan and publicly, all demarcation and delimitation work must be carried out exclusively through negotiations and without creating a fait accompli on the ground and without the use of force. Azerbaijani troops must withdraw from the sovereign territory of Armenia. I call on the parties to return to their starting positions as of 11 May. France is ready to facilitate the dialogue."
In this difficult situation in which Armenia finds itself, France is at Armenia's side, as always, especially in the humanitarian field.
Macron concluded by saying, "We are in solidarity with Armenia, and we will continue to be, and in these testing times France is determined to return to the region."
The full speech is available on the website of the Elysee Palace youtube channel here.
Baku rebuffs Macron's comments
Macron's speech received a cold response in Baku.
In comments made to the media, the spokesperson of the Azerbaijani foreign ministry, Leyla Abdullayeva, said that "it was unclear how France proposed 'to return to the region'. France is a co-chair country and has been participating in regional processes since 1997. Therefore, this statement is not clear. It is no secret that France has a special sympathy for Armenia, but as a co-chair of the Minsk Group, the country must maintain official neutrality. We hope that in accordance with the co-chairing mandate, France will take a neutral and impartial position."
As regards the ceasefire arrangements between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Abdullayeva stated, "a ceasefire is ensured in the region, based on a joint statement signed by the leaders of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia on November 10, 2020. Russian peacekeepers are carrying out a peacekeeping mission to ensure a ceasefire. We do not see any role for France in this matter."
Azerbaijani media have been less careful with their words, with some websites heaping insults on Macron for his pro-Armenian stance
