The French position on Armenians from Karabakh, Armenian detainees, cultural heritage, and human rights reflects a long-standing bias toward the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation process, Aykhan Hajizada, spokesperson for Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry, has stated.
He said Azerbaijan strongly condemns and rejects the unfounded responses published by France’s Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs on June 23 regarding the issues, Caliber.Az reports, citing the ministry.
In his view, the remarks addressed support for Armenians “displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh,” the “fate and release of Armenian prisoners,” “Armenian religious and cultural heritage,” “human rights in the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process,” and “human rights in Azerbaijan.”
According to the statement, the French position is another manifestation of Paris’ long-standing bias regarding the normalisation process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
It noted that while considerable attention is paid to topics such as Armenia’s security, “Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh,” and “Armenian detainees in Azerbaijan,” there is no reference to Armenia’s nearly three-decade occupation of Azerbaijani lands, the devastation caused during that period, the suffering of more than one million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons, the issue of missing persons, or the continued mine threat.
"Despite presenting itself as a supporter of the peace process, France’s particular emphasis on defense cooperation with Armenia and its promotion of the activities of the European Union Mission in Armenia (EUMA) once again demonstrate that France is far from being a neutral actor in the region. France’s expanding military cooperation with Armenia, its provision of arms, and its overtly one-sided political stance do not contribute to peace. On the contrary, such actions encourage revanchist tendencies and undermine the normalization process," he noted.
"The allegations concerning 'Armenian prisoners and detainees' are entirely detached from reality. Attempts to politicize this issue and call into question judicial decisions are unacceptable. The Armenian-origin individuals currently detained in Azerbaijan have been held accountable in accordance with national legislation and international law for specific criminal offenses. The separatist leaders and other Armenian-origin individuals whom Armenia, along with France, supported and patronized for nearly three decades have been convicted and are serving sentences for war crimes, ethnic cleansing, military aggression, torture, and other grave offenses," the spokesperson added.
The statement also criticised France for commenting on “Armenian cultural and religious heritage” while allegedly overlooking the destruction of Azerbaijani cultural monuments, the demolition of mosques, and acts of vandalism committed in Armenia and Azerbaijan’s formerly occupied territories.
"Furthermore, it is surprising that France, whose recent record includes numerous corruption scandals involving politicians, police brutality, the violent dispersal of protesters, pressure on journalists, violations of migrants’ rights, religious discrimination, as well as violence in its overseas territories, including New Caledonia, attempts to portray itself as a champion of human rights and lecture Azerbaijan on this matter," he stressed.
The statement concluded that the French ministry’s responses demonstrate that Paris continues to struggle to acknowledge the realities of the region and, rather than contributing to lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus, persists with what Azerbaijan described as outdated and one-sided policies.
"Such a policy causes serious damage to France’s credibility and standing both in the region and as a reliable international partner," Hajizada emphasised.
By Bakhtiyar Abbasov
