By Trend

The mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group and the OSCE Minsk Group exhausted itself and new solutions are required, Russian military expert, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine Igor Korotchenko told Trend while commenting on a statement made following a videoconference meeting with President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, President Emmanuel Macron as part of the French Presidency of the Council of the EU, President of the European Council Charles Michel and Prime Minister of the Republic Armenia Nikol Pashinyan.

The OSCE Minsk Group was not mentioned in this statement.

"The previous mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group actually exhausted itself in the current military-political situation and in its previous activity it has no demand, that is why it was not mentioned during the meeting," the expert stressed.

As for the new opportunities of the OSCE Minsk Group, Korotchenko added that it must deal with such issues as assistance in the integration of Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan into Azerbaijan’s political and legal aspects.

"For this purpose, it is necessary to develop a specific roadmap through the active participation of the OSCE Minsk Group," the expert said.

"France plays its game and it has been stipulated by several factors," the expert said. "The first and main factor is the influence of the Armenian lobby in France, which is politically and financially quite effective."

"We see that the anti-Azerbaijani rhetoric along with the speeches of certain presidential candidates of France is also used as a factor in attracting the votes of Armenian citizens of France," Korotchenko added. "The Armenian lobby in France is quite influential."

The expert said that a certain period of time must probably pass for France to finally accept the existing realities.

"I think that France must demonstrate both in words and in deeds its position, in particular, an official ban on illegal visits of the French presidential candidates to the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan," Korotchenko said.

The expert said that this must be formalized in France from a legal point of view.

"I reiterate that we have seen a rather duplicitous position of Paris," the expert said. "The fact that France has spoken positively today does not mean that it cannot speak negatively on some issues in future."

Korotchenko said that therefore, constant monitoring and a clear diplomatic reaction to any possible wrong actions of Paris are required.

"But in general, we assess the results of the meeting as a victory of the Azerbaijani diplomacy because everyone understands that the mandate of the OSCE Minsk Group and the OSCE Minsk Group exhausted itself, new completely different solutions are required," the expert said.

"I hope France shows common sense and will be committed to this process," the expert added.