Azernews.Az

By Rashid Shirinov

France is a supporter of a compromise in the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, since the status quo is not a solution to the conflict, French President Emmanuel Macron said on January 31.

"France, as a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group, will continue to follow the way of listening to all sides of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict," Macron said.

France, along with other co-chairs, Russia and the U.S., has repeatedly stated that it stands for a peaceful settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

Armenia captured Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding regions from Azerbaijan in a war that followed the Soviet breakup in 1991. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and nearly 1 million were displaced as a result of the war.

Large-scale hostilities ended with a Russia-brokered ceasefire in 1994 but Armenia continued the occupation in defiance of four UN Security Council resolutions calling for immediate and unconditional withdrawal.

Unfortunately, peace talks mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group have produced no tangible results so far due to Armenia's unconstructive position on the issue. Baku has repeatedly expressed its consent to resolve the conflict with Yerevan by peaceful means, but Armenia avoids substantive negotiations in order to preserve the inadmissible status quo in Nagorno-Karabakh.

---

Rashid Shirinov is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow him on Twitter: @RashidShirinov

Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz