BAKU, Azerbaijan, May 6. We firmly reject the
anti-Azerbaijan allegations voiced by France’s Minister for Europe
and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, at the French Senate on 6
May, said Aykhan Hajizada, Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Azerbaijan, Trend reports.
"The French Minister’s narrative on “Nagorno-Karabakh” in
reference to the Garabagh region—an integral part of Azerbaijan’s
sovereign territory—is unacceptable.
At a time when conditions for lasting peace have been created in
the region following the just war waged by Azerbaijan on its
sovereign territories within the framework of the norms and
principles of international law, we strongly condemn such
provocative statements by the French side, which question
Azerbaijan’s sovereignty over its territories and cast doubt on the
protection of cultural and religious heritage.
It is a clear example of a double standards that the French
Minister, who ignores the destruction of hundreds of mosques and
other cultural heritage sites in the Azerbaijan’s territories
during Armenia’s occupation, comments on the demolition of certain
structures dating back to the occupation period and makes
inappropriate references to the proceedings before the
International Court of Justice.
Historical and religious monuments located in the sovereign
territories of Azerbaijan constitute our national and cultural
heritage and are protected regardless of their origin or religious
or secular affiliation.
The calls by France regarding the deployment of an assessment
mission by UNESCO to Azerbaijan’s Garabagh region are a clear
distortion of realities. It is Azerbaijan that has repeatedly
called for such assessment missions, while unfortunately their
realization has been hindered precisely due to the known obstacles
created by countries such as Armenia and France. This fact was
confirmed by UNESCO’s own 2005 report.
Such statements by the French Minister do not serve for lasting
and sustainable peace in the region," Aykhan Hajizada said.
