Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani Press Council has sent an open letter to French President Emmanuel Macron, Azernews reports.

The letter said:

" Dear Mr. President,

On July 11-13 this year, the Speaker of the Armenian Parliament Alen Simonyan was received by the Chairman of the Senate of the country, Gerard Larcher, as part of his working trip to France.

On July 13, Gerard Larcher reported on his Twitter account that at a meeting with Alen Simonyan on July 11, he demanded the immediate opening of the Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia, allegedly to speed up the supply of defensive weapons by France to ensure the security of Armenia.

This position of the head of the Senate, the upper house of the French Parliament, caused a serious protest in the Azerbaijani society, as well as dissatisfaction with the media community of our country. Also, one of the points that cause serious dissatisfaction is the distribution and evaluation of Larcher's publication in individual French media.

We believe that such an opinion of the Chairman of the Senate is an attempt to oppose efforts aimed at achieving peace in the sensitive region of the South Caucasus. Unfortunately, this attempt was conveyed to the French public through various media, thus initiating the formation of a real military atmosphere.

Currently, discussion between Azerbaijan and Armenia are ongoing. The Azerbaijani media are closely following the efforts aimed at resolving issues such as bringing the two countries to a common denominator, signing a peace treaty, fully opening communications in the region, and delimiting borders. This process is of great public interest, which is also in the focus of the European Union. In the current conditions, when the peace agenda is relevant, we consider this message of Mr. Larcher, aimed at arming Armenia and, ultimately, militarizing the region, unacceptable.

The failure to take any steps for almost thirty years aimed at a just resolution of the conflict, on the contrary, the continuous arming of Armenia created the conditions for the commission of new crimes by the occupier. We believe that the international world, including the French public and the media, must first of all take this into account, counteract the further growth of tension in the region and the implementation of undesirable scenarios. The advancement of Mr. Larcher's ideas threatens the peace agenda, which is still fragile in our geography, and sets the stage for the growth of militarism. This is disappointing and regrettable for the Press Council, which is considered one of the important public institutions in our country and brings together leading media and journalistic organizations, as well as various sections of Azerbaijani society. Azerbaijani journalists believe that the responsibility for any unpleasant situation, armed escalation and other tendencies of tension will fall directly on the French state and its leadership.

Mr. President, we hope that the leadership of France will reconsider its unilateral position, its policy aimed at further intensifying instability in the region by arming Armenia. We also want to draw your attention to the fact that, as of the current period, there are facts about the supply by France to Armenia of infantry fighting vehicles, artillery and missile systems produced in India under a license from France, and other offensive and deadly heavy weapons. In addition, it is reported that France has opened a military attaché in Armenia. We hope that these mentioned issues will be seriously investigated, our inquiries will be answered and the French state will clarify all this.

We call on you to treat the issue we have touched on delicately, to make efforts to support sustainable peace in the South Caucasus. I would like to believe that an adequate attitude will be shown to our call and France will show a fair position on the issue of solving problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia, will contribute to the removal of tension, will help the implementation of the humanitarian mission, the peoples of both countries live in peace and tranquility."

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