Azerbaijan says top French diplomat’s comments on Karabakh ‘unacceptable’

ISTANBUL (AA) – Azerbaijan has said that comments made by French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna about the situation in Karabakh are “unacceptable.”

“French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna’s statements such as this, which do not serve peace and stability in the region and show a one-sided pro-Armenian position, are unacceptable,” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said in a statement released by the ministry.

Hajizada accused Colonna of “turning a blind eye” to matters such as the occupation of the Karabakh region by Armenia for nearly 30 years, the displacement of nearly one million Azerbaijanis as refugees and internally displaced people (IDPs), and provocations by Yerevan since the end of the 2nd Karabakh War, calling it an “example of an illegal and unethical approach.”

He also denied the top French diplomat’s claims that a policy is being implemented to stymie efforts to reintegrate Armenian residents of Karabakh and expel them from the region.

Hajizada said, “Once again, we call on the French side to put an end to such provocative ideas.”

Colonna claimed during a speech at a conference in Paris that efforts are being made to “give the people of Nagorno-Karabakh the opportunity to live there, as well as to respect their rights, culture and history.”

She also claimed that efforts have been made to “incite” a mass exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, Azerbaijan liberated several cities, villages, and settlements from Armenian occupation during 44 days of clashes. The war ended with a Russia-brokered peace agreement.

Despite ongoing talks over a long-term peace agreement, tensions between the neighboring countries rose in recent months over the Lachin road, the only land route giving Armenia access to the Karabakh region, where Azerbaijan established a border checkpoint in April to prevent the illegal transport of military arms and equipment to the region.