11:21,

GORIS, OCTOBER 12, ARMENPRESS. French Member of Parliament Anne-Laurence Petel has said that the crimes committed by the Azerbaijani authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh should be documented in order to have strong evidence. This would allow them to raise the issue and take effective measures.

“Of course, many French-Armenians have been presenting videos showing what they describe as crimes committed by the Azerbaijanis in Nagorno-Karabakh against the peaceful population, but nevertheless it is highly important for these episodes to be documented, to mention where and when exactly these crimes were committed, in order to have a strong evidence basis to help us raise this and take effective countermeasures,” the MP said in Goris during a meeting with forcibly displaced persons from Nagorno-Karabakh.

She highlighted the fact that Armenia has joined the Rome Statute of the ICC. This will facilitate independent investigations into Azeri war crimes. “If all episodes are properly documented, the criminals will sooner or later be held to account and face justice,” she said.

The security of Armenia’s borders and protection of its territorial integrity is now a priority for France and many EU countries, thus French lawmakers are calling on their European partners to provide more support to Armenia, Anne-Laurence Petel said.

Speaking about the repatriation of Armenian POWs and the arbitrary arrests of the Nagorno-Karabakh leadership by Azerbaijan, Anne-Laurence Petel said that a discussion has taken place in the French parliament in this regard.

A meeting with the participation of the European Commission President has also taken place on this matter and the latter has asked the list of all arrested officials and POWs.

Wider Europe programme Director Marie Dumoulin, who also visited Goris as part of the European delegation, said that they seek to understand whether or not there’s an opportunity to start dialogue between Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijanis, and deploy international peacekeepers on the ground.

“It’s certainly too early to speak about peacekeepers, Armenia’s security is our primary concern. The international community is trying to do everything to ensure the security of Armenia and the Karabakhis who are now in Armenia, in order to be able to ensure the safe return of the displaced persons to Nagorno-Karabakh,” Dumoulin said.