France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna meets with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan on Apr. 27
Pashinyan, Macron discuss Artsakh humanitarian crisis
France on Tuesday increased its pressure campaign on Azerbaijan by slamming what it called the “illegal” and “immoral” blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The strategy of chokehold aimed at inciting a mass exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh is illegal, as already defined by the international court. That policy is also immoral,” French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Tuesday during a meeting with French diplomats
Colonna’s statement comes a day after President Emmanuel Macron of France said that France will increase its pressure on Azerbaijan to end the Artsakh blockade.
The French foreign minister added that France is mobilizing its efforts for the establishment of just and sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which will allow to implement border delimitation.
“Just and sustainable peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan would also allow the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to live in their homeland and for their rights, culture and history to be respected,” she said.
Official Baku was quick to respond calling Colonna’s remarks “unaccapetable.” Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada said that France is “showing a one-sided pro-Armenian position, which does not serve peace and stability in the region.
“The Republic of Azerbaijan is making efforts, within the framework of national legislation, to reintegrate the Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region into the political, social, and economic spheres of our country, and it is absolutely wrong to obstruct this efforts and to declare that as if a policy is being pursued [by Azerbaijan] to remove Armenian residents from the region,” Hajizada added.
“Once again, we call on the French side to put an end to such inflammatory and provocative statements,” Hajizada said.
In his remarks on Monday, Macron stated that he will discuss the humanitarian crisis with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan.
Pashinyan’s office reported on Tuesday that the prime minister and Macron held a telephone conversation to discuss the worsening humanitarian crisis in Artsakh.
“Nikol Pashinyan underscored the daily deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan and emphasized the need for steps aimed at overcoming and resolving it,” the prime minister’s press service said.
“The Armenian and French leaders also underscored the importance of consistent efforts in the direction of ensuring stability and peace in the region,” the call readout added.