Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh protests against French mayor’s illegal visit

TProfessor Elchin Ahmadov, Chairman of the Coordination Council of the Public Association “Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan” critisized the illegal trip, assessing the as support to military aggression.

"According to Armenian media reports, a declaration of friendship was signed between the occupied Azerbaijani city of Shusha and the French Saint-Etienne. To this end, the mayor of the city of Saint-Etienne, Gael Perdriot, accompanied by a biased anti-Azerbaijani position and influenced by the Armenian lobby, Francois Rochebluant visited the occupied territories of Azerbaijan," he said.

Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan strongly protests against the illegal visit of the mayor of the French city of Saint-Etienne to the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, signing an illegal declaration of friendship with the city under occupation in Shusha and express indignation on this matter.

Ahmadov mentioned that despite the circular instructions of the Ministries of European and Foreign Affairs and the Interior of France, the heads of some French cities, under the influence of the Armenian lobby, illegally visit the occupied territories of Azerbaijan and sign various illegal documents with cities under military occupation. It is regretful that despite the fact that France is the cochair of the OSCE Minsk Group, the government of this country demonstrates the position of an outside observer of such illegal actions and does not take effective measures.

The leaders of some French cities, including the mayor of SaintEtienne, who resort to such unlawful steps, support and justify the military aggression of Armenia against Azerbaijan, the occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan and the ethnic cleansing carried out in the occupied territories against more than one million Azerbaijanis, the professor added.

He also expessed the hope that the Armenian and Azerbaijani communities of Nagorno-Karabakh will once again live together in the atmosphere of peace, within the borders and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. Only in this case it is possible to ensure a stable and fair peace in the region.

"We urge the French government, as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, to take effective steps to prevent such unlawful actions that undermine the conflict resolution process, and to intensify joint efforts with other co-chairs to resolve the conflict," Ahmadov concluded.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammdyarov met with the French Ambassador on the sidelines of the VI Baku International Humanitarian Forum held on October 25.

“I told the ambassador that if someone refuses to carry out certain tasks, let the French government take the appropriate measures. The ambassador said she would send information on this issue to Paris and provide an answer to the Azerbaijani side,” said Mammadyarov.

The so-called "Declaration of Friendship" was signed between the occupied Shusha city and the French city of Saint-Étienne in the city hall of Shusha on October 21.

Armenian armed forces occupied ancient Azerbaijan’s Shusha city on May 8, 1992.

As a result of the occupation, Shusha city and 30 villages in Shusha district were destroyed, 195 civilians were killed, 165 people were injured, 58 people went missing, more than 24,000 people were exposed to ethnic cleansing. After seizing the city, the occupiers razed to the ground about 600 historical-architectural monuments in Shusha, plundered and ruined seven kindergartens, 22 schools, music school, eight culture centers, 22 clubs, 31 libraries, two cinemas and eight museums.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

Until now, Armenia rejects implementing four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from NagornoKarabakh and surrounding regions.

The recent statement of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov once again shows that Azerbaijan understands the importance of dialogue between the parties to the conflict and is ready to continue it.

Azerbaijan is ready to continue substantive negotiations aimed at beginning the process of phased settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

This was stated by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov in an interview with RIA Novosti.

Namely Baku has repeatedly voiced the position on the need to promote a responsible dialogue aimed at the particular result, he noted.

This would be the end of the occupation, creation of conditions for the safe and decent return of IDPs, including representatives of the Azerbaijani community of NagornoKarabakh, to their homes, followed by ensuring broad rights of self-government for the population of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, consisting of its Armenian and Azerbaijani communities.

The foreign minister noted that the conversation at the highest level held between President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan on the sidelines of the last CIS summit in Dushanbe is a good example of Azerbaijan’s readiness for meaningful dialogue.

“Alas, the change of power and the political turbulence observed so far in Yerevan have slowed down the process to a certain extent,” Mammadyarov said. “We hope that the Armenian leadership will soon be able to demonstrate political will to continue the negotiation process within the existing format and based on a well-known agenda,” said Mammadyarov.

Azerbaijan is developing an active bilateral dialogue and mutually beneficial equal cooperation with all the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, of course, with the exception of Armenia, which continues to carry out military aggression against Azerbaijan, by occupying the internationally recognized territories of my country, where it conducted bloody and total ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijani population, he added.

As a result of Armenia's armed invasion into Azerbaijan's legal territory, the two neighboring countries have remained locked in a bitter territorial dispute over the NagornoKarabakh region, which Armenia-backed separatists seized from Azerbaijan in a bloody war in the early 1990s. As a result of the ensuing war, Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.

The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

Despite Baku's best efforts, peace in the occupied lands remains a mirage in the distance as Armenia refuses to comply with international law.