France’s statement on anniversary of April clashes in Karabakh conflict zone

By Azernews

By Rashid Shirinov

France, as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, worked actively with its Russian and American partners to end the escalation on the line of contact of the Azerbaijani and Armenian troops in April 2016 and resume negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the French Foreign Ministry.

France reiterates its conviction that the current status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh is untenable and that there can be no military solution to the conflict, reads the Ministry’s statement released on April 6.

The Ministry called on the parties to abide by the commitments taken at the Vienna summit on May 16, 2016, and the Saint Petersburg summit on June 20, 2016: to respect the ceasefire, establish trust-building measures, and resume negotiations.

As President Francois Hollande noted at recent meetings in Paris with his Azerbaijani and Armenian counterparts, France remains fully committed to achieving the conflict’s negotiated, lasting solution that promotes stability and prosperity throughout the region, said the Foreign Ministry.

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. 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 Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.

The OSCE Minsk Group, the activities of which have become known as the Minsk Process, works to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict for over two decades, but in vain.