AZERBAIJAN PROTESTS VISIT OF FRENCH MPs TO NAGORNO-KARABAKH
Baku has raised a formal protest with France and Germany over events related to the Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is internationally recognized as Azerbaijani territory, but de facto controlled by Armenian troops. Four members of the French National Assembly headed by Guy Teissier, Chairman of the French Assembly's defense and armed forces committee, arrived in the breakaway region on August 22 and met with Bako Sahakian, the president of the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic.
Speaking in the de facto parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh, Teissier, who is a member of France's ruling Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), described the trip as a gesture of “solidarity.” The recent visit of French deputies shows that France pursues a policy based on double standards though this country together with Russia and the U.S. are mediating to find a solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, said Malahat Ibrahimqizi, a member of the Azerbaijani Parliament from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party. “If they had good intentions in Karabakh, they would have requested permission from relevant authorities in Azerbaijan. Otherwise, I condemn their visit,” she stated.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has sent two letters of protest to the French Foreign Ministry and the National Assembly over the visit of four deputies to the breakaway region. Elman Abdullayev, spokesman of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, said that the four deputies had been blacklisted and declared persona non grata in Azerbaijan. “They had to inform Azerbaijani authorities in advance about the visit. Otherwise, it is considered as disrespect for the country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, which is a violation of the law. It is illegal visit to Azerbaijan’s territory because Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized part of Azerbaijan,” Abdullayev said. Abdullayev had trouble confirming how many persons had been put on the so-called black list so far, but noted that journalists and businessmen were represented apart from deputies and state figures. “All of them will be refused visas to Azerbaijan,” he stated. “The Government of Azerbaijan has the right to take measures against people who violate its territorial integrity. They have to know that the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh are illegitimate.”
The local Trend news agency quoted Azerbaijan's Ambassador to France, Elchin Amirbekov, as saying that the French Foreign Ministry had already responded to the protest. Amirbekov quoted the ministry as saying the four lawmakers travelled to the disputed territory on their individual initiative and did not represent the French National Assembly. Tessier, who led the delegation, represents areas of Marseille, which are heavily populated by Armenians. The French MPs’ visit does not reflect the stance of Paris, the French Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bernard Valero stated.
The French Foreign Ministry posted a statement on its website on August 24 saying the trip of the MPs did not reflect a change in France's position on Nagorno-Karabakh. “France, like all countries in the international community including Armenia itself, does not recognize this territory’s independence. This territory’s international legal status can only be determined within the framework of a peaceful and equitable solution agreed upon by all parties concerned,” the statement reads. “France, Russia, and the U.S. – the co-chairs of the OSCE’s Minsk group – are trying to mediate a solution to the dispute.”
A few days later, Baku sent one more letter of protest to the German Foreign Ministry demanding that a concert in Stuttgart, dedicated to the so-called independence of the internationally unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh region, be prevented. The concert is planned within the Cultural Days of Armenia in Stuttgart as part of celebrating the country’s 20th anniversary of independence. It is scheduled for mid-September.
At the same time, the Azerbaijani Embassy in Germany has sent a letter to Stuttgart’s mayor and called on him to prevent Armenia’s provocation aimed at promoting the occupation regime politically, and to prevent deception of the German public. “People, especially state figures, have to know that the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh are illegitimate. They have to respect international law and UN conventions stating that this region is a recognized part of Azerbaijan,” said a spokesman of Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry. “Any country and any businessman who has the intention to do business in the Southern Caucasus should be aware that over 70 percent of the region’s total gross domestic product is produced in Azerbaijan.”
