Baku, November 26, AZERTAC

“The resolution of the French Senate is nothing more than a piece of paper for Azerbaijan,” said Assistant to the Azerbaijani President, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev as he commented on the adoption of the resolution by the French Senate on the recognition of the self-styled “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic”.

Hikmat Hajiyev said: “On November 18, at the Presidium of the French Senate, a group of senators influenced by the Armenian diaspora and lobby presented a draft resolution No. 145 on "The need to recognize the "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic", which was discussed and adopted on November 25.

First of all, I would like to emphasize that this resolution is nothing but an ordinary piece of paper for Azerbaijan. This piece of paper, adopted to serve narrow political ambitions, along with a gross violation of international law, the UN Charter and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, raises serious questions about France's intentions and objective activities both as a co-chair country of the Minsk Group and a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

This provocative step of the Senate is a manifestation of the traditional Armenian fanaticism of the French political circles.

The open pro-Armenian position of France, which has forgotten that a mediating country must be neutral and fair, has become one of the main factors hindering the peaceful resolution of the conflict. This support has prompted aggressive Armenia to continue the status quo and strengthen the fact of occupation.

It is very regrettable that the French Senate have opted to take a silent position for 30 years regarding the occupation of the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan, the killing of the civilian population, ethnic cleansing, ecological terror, illegal settlement and illegal economic activity in our lands.

We firmly reject the false accusations and slander against Azerbaijan and fraternal Turkey which are reflected in the text of the resolution, and strongly condemn attempts to distort the historical, political and legal aspects of the conflict.

The claims against Turkey and Azerbaijan, which have not yet been confirmed by any evidence, for allegedly involving hired terrorists from abroad in hostilities are groundless. Our relevant entities have brought to the attention of France the facts and evidence of the involvement of mercenaries who are French citizens in the battles on the territory of Azerbaijan within the Armenian armed forces.

We consider the resolution as a clear example of growing Islamophobia in France. The discrimination and persecution in France against the Islamic religion and Muslims under the guise of extreme secularism and freedom of the press reminds us of the anti-Semitism that once reigned in this country and continues to this day.

The French Senate purposefully avoids condemning the military provocations of Armenia committed during 44 days of fighting against civilians, civilian facilities, energy and transport infrastructure located near and far from the conflict zone, shamelessly blaming Azerbaijan, whose villages, towns and cities were subjected to missile strikes, and where most of all civilians were killed.

The pro-Armenian political circles of France must understand that Azerbaijan waged a war against foreign occupying armed forces on its land, and these lands are the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, recognized by international law. No force can accuse Azerbaijan of this and demand the withdrawal of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces from these territories.

On November 10, 2020, a joint statement signed by the President of Azerbaijan, the President of Russia and the prime minister of Armenia ended the military escalation between Armenia and Azerbaijan and paved the way to practical measures to establish peace in the region.

Unfortunately, it should be noted that, paradoxically, France, which is one of the co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, is trying to disrupt this agreement and reignite the conflict. The hypocritical policy recently pursued by France against our country in a number of international organizations is a matter of serious concern and questions for Azerbaijan.

If the French Senate is so "worried" about justice and international law, then it would be more logical to consider the issue of the Comorian island of Mayotte, which is one of the latest examples of colonization, in accordance with the resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the decisions of the Non-Aligned Movement.

We consider the adoption of this resolution as an extremely shameful step for French politics and parliamentarism. The French government must state its official position on the inadmissibility of such provocative steps and express its support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan by issuing a statement condemning the resolution."