Baku, September 25, AZERTAC

“Position of the French President Emmanuel Macron distorting the current situation in the region during his interviews to TF1 and France 2 channels on September 24 clearly displays his double standards and bias,” said spokesperson for Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Aykhan Hajizada as he commented on allegations made by French President Emmanuel Macron during his interviews to TF1 and France 2 channels.

“France’s attempts to apply its egregious neo-colonial policies in the South Caucasus based on geopolitical rivalry and “Orientalism” by supporting separatism in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, and bringing forward the factor of Christianity in the issue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, while approaching the former conflict through the lenses of religion falsely portraying itself as the defender of human rights and international law, are dangerous and unacceptable.

We remind France of the fact that the operation conducted by Azerbaijan to end Armenia’s 30-years-long occupation on the sovereign territories of Azerbaijan, and to restore the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is a legitimate right of Azerbaijan as established under international law.

Strict adherence to the norms of international humanitarian law by Azerbaijan during the anti-terror measures against the Armenian armed formations on the territory of Azerbaijan conducted on September 19-20 was confirmed by international organizations including the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Claims on Azerbaijan’s alleged targeting of civilians were also refuted by the Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. In light of the aforementioned facts, allegations against the anti-terror measures of Azerbaijan are absolutely groundless.

The attempt by France to lecture Azerbaijan on human rights, where many ethnicities and ethnic minorities live in prosperity, while absolutely neglecting human rights during its colonial policies, is unacceptable. Moreover, the expression by France of its intention to protect the rights of Armenians, while refusing until now to address the rights of Azerbaijanis who have been deprived of their rights and displaced from their homes, and were subjected to horrific massacres during the last 30 years, makes its insidious intention clear.

Azerbaijan, in addition to disarming Armenian armed formations and forcing Armenian armed forces to withdraw from its territories, also provides aid to the Armenian residents and facilitates their integration into the Azerbaijani society.

In light of the aforementioned, we declare once again that the efforts of France, which do not serve peace and destabilize the situation in the region, will not yield any results,” the MFA spokesperson emphasized.