Armenian expert accuses French ambassador of professional  unsuitability after statements on Artsakh status 

ArmInfo. When exactly did the French Ambassador to Armenia join the ranks of the Civil Contract party? This question was asked by political observer of the Political  Economy research institute, political scientist Benjamin Matevosyan  after the French Ambassador's interview with Public Radio.

"The French Ambassador to Armenia, Mr. Decotigny, made statements  that call into question his professional suitability. If since 1991,  the year based on the fact that Armenia signed the Alma-Ata  Declaration (when signing which Yerevan had its reservations,  Nagorno-Karabakh, in accordance with the Constitution of the USSR,  had already left the Azerbaijan SSR), the Republic of Armenia  recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, then what has France been  doing for 30 years as one of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group?  What did France and its diplomatic corps, which Decotigny also  represents, negotiate about? Let Mr. Ambassador publish all the  proposals that have come from official Paris over all these years,"  the political scientist noted.

Moreover, Matevosyan suggested that the French floor show in which of  the documents Paris referred to the Alma-Ata Declaration before  October 2022?

"At least one mention of this declaration. The ambassador cannot do  this, since it is impossible to show something that does not exist,  unless of course you are a member of the Civil Contract party.

The ambassador, of course, is trying to remove responsibility for  what happened from President Emmanuel Macron, who, along with Charles  Michel, was the "godfather" of the surrender of Artsakh in Prague,  with the ethnic cleansing that followed the Prague conspiracy," the  political scientist added.

At the same time, the expert believes that it would be more honest  before the conscience and the peoples of Artsakh and Armenia if the  ambassador said that despite any statements or positions of Macron,  Nikol Pashinyan was the leader of Armenia, and in 2022 his personal  position was decisive in sentencing Artsakh.

Earlier, the French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decotigny stated  that "Nagorno-Karabakh as a state was not recognized either by the  international community or by Armenia, while Armenia recognized the  NKR as part of Azerbaijan from the moment the Alma-Ata Declaration  was adopted."

He noted that during the Soviet era, Nagorno-Karabakh was a region  within Azerbaijan. "Those who say that this was recognized in Prague  in 2022 are lying, because Nagorno-Karabakh has been recognized as  part of Azerbaijan since the adoption of the Alma-Ata Declaration (in  1991). Prague only refers to this declaration. Now the only question  is how to achieve a fair, stable peace in order to eliminate the  threats looming over Armenia," said Decotigny.

Note that if you open the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991, it is written  there in black and white that states within their current borders are  recognized. That is, at the time of the adoption of this declaration,  Artsakh was no longer part of Azerbaijan, and after the plebiscite it  was de facto an independent state. Moreover, all independent experts  unanimously note that the above declaration cannot serve as a basis  for demarcation between states, since at that time it was declarative  in nature and there are no maps on it.