October 26, 2020
15 French lawmakers visited Artsakh and met with the country’s foreign minister Masis Mayilyan
Artsakh Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan on Monday welcomed a delegation of 15 lawmakers from France, who are in Stepanakert to gain first-hand knowledge of Azerbaijan’s aggression against Artsakh.
The delegation arrived in Yerevan later Saturday evening. The French lawmakers spent Sunday in Yerevan, where they visited the Dzidzernagapert Armenian Genocide memorial and met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, who extensively briefed them on the current military, political and humanitarian situation in Artsakh.
In his remarks, Mayilyan expressed Artsakh’s gratitude to the lawmakers for their solidarity with the Republic of Artsakh, which has been subjected to armed aggression by Azerbaijan with direct involvement of Turkey and international terrorists from the Middle East deployed by Turkey to the conflict zone. The Artsakh foreign minister also praised French President Emanuel Macron for his efforts to negotiate a ceasefire agreement and restore peace and stability in the region.
Artsakh Foreign Minister Masis Mayilyan was presented a copy of proposed legislation in the French Parliament to recognize Artsakh
Mayilyan stressed that during the past 30 years the armed aggression unleashed on September 27 is the third attempt by Azerbaijan to suppress the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination by force, noting, however, that the current situation differed from the previous ones both in scale and the types of weapons used.
According to the foreign minister, the armed aggression by Azerbaijan was accompanied by numerous cases of war crimes, documented also by international organizations.
Mayilian noted that as a result of the military aggression about 60 percent of the republic’s population was forced to leave their homes, most of the civilian infrastructures have been destroyed causing a grave humanitarian crisis in Artsakh. To this end, the foreign minister stressed the need for the involvement of specialized international humanitarian organizations in addressing the situation.
A 15-member delegation of French lawmakers visited Dzidzernagapert on Oct. 25
Mayilian also emphasized that international recognition of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh is the most effective way to stop the Azerbaijani aggression, as this process would apply international political and diplomatic mechanisms to curb the aggression and force Azerbaijan to peace.
He further noted that given Baku’s illusions that Artsakh belongs to Azerbaijan, its government was attempting to exert and extend its sovereignty with the use of force. Therefore, he said, the international recognition of the independence of the Republic of Artsakh would be a clear signal to Azerbaijan that it has no rights to Artsakh.
The head of the French delegation thanked the Mayilyan for providing detailed information about the Azerbaijani aggression and its consequences and offered condolences for the victims of the attacks.
Members of the French parliament presented to the Artsakh Foreign Minister a copy of the draft resolution on recognition of the Republic of Artsakh, which was submitted to the French parliament and co-signed by more than 50 lawmakers.