French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to participate “without delay” in negotiations to achieve a “lasting peace”, while receiving the Armenian prime minister.
“The use of force cannot be the solution for Armenia more than for Azerbaijan and the dialogue must be restored without delay,” he stressed, together with Nikol Pashinian, before the press. “All pending issues, and there are many, we know, must be dealt with exclusively through negotiation,” she insisted.
Deadly clashes, killing nearly 300 people, broke out on September 13 on the border between the two countries, which blame each other for the most violent fighting since the 2020 war for control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.
“The situation remains very critical on the ground,” President Macron said. “The territory of Armenia was attacked, the civil infrastructure was destroyed,” he said, calling the situation “unacceptable.”
“The fact that the border is not delimited cannot justify advances on the territory of the other country”, he continued, in the direction of Baku.
“We cannot build peace while raising the threat of the use of force,” he added, adding that he will also meet “in the next few hours” with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Contribute to “progress for lasting peace”
France will see how it can “contribute, together with the European Union and the other powers involved, to” advance in the interest of a lasting peace”, in particular in the “delimitation of the border” between the two countries, added Emmanuel Macron.
Nikol Pashinian for his part questioned the lack of border delimitation between the two countries. “It doesn’t correspond to reality,” he said.
“The administrative borders between Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan have become state borders since the two countries signed and ratified the agreement to create the Commonwealth of Independent States”, which brings together several countries of the former USSR, in 1991 , said.
“It is necessary that the borders recognized bilaterally by the agreement of December 8, 1991 become the basis of negotiations” between the two countries, insisted the Armenian prime minister.
“The right and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh must be guaranteed,” he also stressed.
Source: BFM TV
