Azerbaijani Parliament calls on Government to appeal for exclusion of France from OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship

The Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan has called on the Government to appeal to the OSCE leadership for exclusion of the French Republic from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. In its Statement on the resolution, adopted by the French Senate at the instigation of various Turkophobic and Islamophobic political forces and Armenian ethnic groups based in France, the Azerbaijani Parliament said France`s neutrality was questioned due to its position and statements made in recent days.

“The recognition by the French Senate of this puppet body is an attempt to incite the French Government to violate the fundamental norms and principles of international law,” the statement says.

“This step by the French Senate is inconsistent with the commitments of the French Republic in the framework of the EU's global foreign and security policy, including the documents adopted by the Council of the European Union on the territorial integrity of states since 2016. One of the main reasons why the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which posed a threat to the security of the South Caucasus and Europe as a whole, had not been resolved for nearly 30 years, is that the states playing the role of international mediators in peace talks, France in particular, did not refer to the aggressor by its name and treated the aggressor and the victim of aggression in the same manner,” the document emphasizes.

“The resolution of the French Senate made baseless and false allegations that Turkish forces were involved in Azerbaijan’s counter-offensive, mercenaries from some conflict zones in the Middle East were being used against Armenia and war crimes being committed against civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh, but provided no evidence of the above whatsoever. The Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan emphasizes that the new realities created as a result of Azerbaijan's comprehensive efforts in the South Caucasus must be accepted by all international organizations and states, including the French Republic,” the statement mentions.

The Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan also called on the Government of Azerbaijan to reconsider the existing political relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the French Republic, and to deeply analyze the existing economic relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and the French Republic and take necessary measures.