Foreign Ministry: France does not recognize the self-proclaimed  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

ArmInfo. Paris does not recognize the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. This is stated in the statement of the official representative of the French  Foreign Ministry, published on the website of the department.

"On November 25, the Senate adopted a resolution calling for the  recognition by the French authorities of the self-proclaimed  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. During the debate prior to the vote, State  Secretary of the Foreign Ministry Jean-Baptiste Lemoine recalled the  position of the French government on this issue.  France does not  recognize the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic," - noted in  the statement.  At the same time, the French foreign ministry  recalled that the duty of Paris as the co-chair of the OSCE Minsk  Group is to work on the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict  through negotiations, adding in this regard that the issue of the  future status of Nagorno-Karabakh and the outcome of these  negotiations is not will and cannot be determined in advance and  unilaterally.

"Our priority today should be to ensure the safe return of those  displaced by the conflict of the past few weeks. In his address to  the Senate, the Secretary of State also recalled that no state has  yet recognized Nagorno-Karabakh," - noted in the statement of the  French Foreign Ministry.

Paris reiterated its commitment to achieving a lasting solution to  the conflict that takes into account the security and dignity of the  peoples of the region. "France will continue to do everything in its  power to stabilize the situation in the South Caucasus. Committed,  within the appropriate framework of the OSCE Minsk Group  co-chairmanship, to move forward on all parameters that have yet to  be agreed upon after the November 9 ceasefire agreement, in  particular, the half of the withdrawal foreign mercenaries involved  in the conflict, or the protection of the historical and cultural  heritage of the region, "the French Foreign Ministry noted, and in  this context, also recalling the structured actions of the French  side to provide humanitarian aid to the population affected by the  conflict.

Note that on November 25, the French Senate, with 305 votes "for" and  one against, adopted a resolution on the need to recognize the  independence of Nagorno Karabakh, which was represented by 5  political factions.

The resolution, among other provisions, invites the French government  to recognize the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic; condemns the aggression  of Azerbaijan against Artsakh with the participation of Turkey and  foreign mercenaries, demanding the withdrawal of troops from the  territories seized after September 27; also requires the government  to make every effort to restore the negotiation process within the  framework of the OSCE Minsk Group, which will restore the borders  from 1994, which in turn will ensure the safety of the Armenian  population and the return of internally displaced persons, as well as  protect the Armenian cultural and religious heritage. Pointing in the  resolution to the Armenian pogroms in Baku, Sumgait, Kirovabad and  Maragha, and referring to the reports of the Commission on Racism and  Intolerance of the Council of Europe and the UN Committee on Racial  Discrimination (CERD) on Azerbaijan, it was pointed out that it is  impossible for the Armenian population to live in Azerbaijan.

The adoption by the French Senate of this resolution was already  welcomed by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, Artsakh Foreign Ministry,  Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, Catholicos of the Great House  of Cilicia Aram I, RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

In Baku, they criticized this resolution, calling the document a  piece of paper.