Monday, January 17 2022 14:25

ArmInfo.The leaders of the faction of the French Senate "Republicans" (LR) Bruno Retailleau,  head of the same faction in the French National Assembly Damien Abad  and  head of the same faction in the European Parliament, MEP  Francois-Xavier Bellamy addressed a letter to French President  Emmanuel Macron in connection with the threats of the Azerbaijani  leader Ilham Aliyev to the French politician  Valerie Pecresse.

According to <Le Journal du Dimanche>, in a letter signed by the  majority of LR deputies, senators and MEPs (a little less than 250  political figures), they call on Macron, to demand on behalf of  France, that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev apologize to French  presidential candidate from the <Republicans> party Valerie Pecresse  for scandalous remarks about a French politician.

.  Thus, in a letter addressed to Macron, the parliamentarians stated  that after the visit of Valerie Pecresse to Armenia, on January 12  Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said that if Azerbaijan had known  about the recent "illegal visit of Valerie Pecresse to  Nagorno-Karabakh, they would not let her out of there."

"France can not leave these scandalous statements unanswered, since  this statement is not only a call to hatred against the French  statesman, the president of the Ile-de-France region and the  candidate for the presidency of France, but also an undisguised  threat directed to the French people, the government of France and  its representatives, taking into account the relations of our country  with Armenia.

Should we tolerate the government of any other state forbidding  representatives elected by the French people to visit the territory,  which, we recall, does not belong to this state, or would threaten to  encroach on their freedom, up to their physical safety", the letter  of the legislators reads.

In this vein, the MPs reminded Aliyev that the French are free, and  France is a sovereign state.

"France cannot accept any threat, must not succumb to any  intimidation, especially when they are made by a despot, who calls  Armenians "dogs", who during the conflict with Armenia used  prohibited weapons and jihadist mercenaries and constantly  demonstrated how little he values human dignity.

Therefore, Mr. President, we ask on behalf of France to demand that  the Republic of Azerbaijan officially ask for forgiveness, and if  this does not happen as soon as possible, we demand that the French  ambassador be recalled from Azerbaijan. This is a matter of both  France's values and its honor. This is also about the support that we  owe to the Armenian people, who, despite the aggression, provocations  and humiliation of Azerbaijan, are firmly and worthily going through  trials. The position of France should be equal to the example of  Armenia, which worthily passes through the crucible of suffering,  which causes admiration>, the letter notes.

A complete list of legislators who signed the letter is available in  the original source.  French presidential candidate Valerie Pecresse  visited Armenia and Artsakh on December 21-23, 2021.  During the  visit, she was accompanied by  former French Foreign Minister, former  European Commissioner Michel Barnie, as well as the leader of the  Republican faction of the French Senate, Bruno Retailleau. The other  day, in an interview with the Azerbaijani media, Aliyev said that  Azerbaijan did not know about the visit of Valerie Pecresse to  Nagorno-Karabakh, and if he knew, it is quite obvious that he would  not allow her to leave the NKR.