ArmInfo. The talks between representatives of Armenia and Azerbaijan mediated by US Secretary of
State Blinken, do not imply that EU mediation is not alive. This was stated by French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies in an interview with Hetq, in response to a question about whether
Brussels' mediation could be deemed unsuccessful, given that the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan have recently only met under the auspices of the United States. According to him, the EU continues to
offer its services to the two parties.
"And to my knowledge, Armenia has not rejected the EU's offer. And of course, if we look back at
the negotiations and their results, the most important and effective
steps were achieved thanks to EU mediation, in particular, when the
parties met in Prague in October 2022, along with the EU and
President Macron. That is when the parties reaffirmed their
commitment to the Alma-Ata Declaration, which is crucial for
establishing a fair and lasting peace," the French diplomat said.
When asked about his attitude towards the draft peace treaty,
Decottignies noted the imperative of signing a peace treaty between
Yerevan and Baku. "It has been stated many times, including by the
Prime Minister of Armenia, that most of the agreement has already
been agreed upon by the parties. The Prime Minister of Armenia has
expressed willingness to sign what is already agreed as a basis for
an agreement, and further discussions on pending matters. Azerbaijan
has a special responsibility as it will attract a lot of
international attention while they organize COP29 (the 29th session
of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change). It creates special international responsibility for
them. At this stage, the main responsibility is to come to a peace
agreement with Armenia," the French Ambassador is confident.
According to him, Paris's position is clear: the conditions for a
peace agreement have already been created and the agreement must be
concluded as soon as possible. That means before COP29. The
Ambassador also touched upon the activities of the EU Civilian
Mission to Armenia (EUMA) and expressed surprise at the criticism of
EUMA from both Azerbaijan and Russia. "I am quite surprised by the
criticism towards the European mission from Azerbaijan and Russia.
And quite strikingly, we hear the same words from Russia and from
Azerbaijan to the point that one wonders whether it's Russian
language translation into Azerbaijani or Azerbaijani translated into
Russian. But if we look at the facts, the European mission has
contributed to a decrease in the number of incidents on the military
contact line. I mean real incidents, not fake news. The population of
Armenian villages near the contact line, who are exposed to the risk
of shelling and even to the risk of renewed conflict, welcome the
presence of the mission," the diplomat said, adding that France,
together with its EU partners, insisted on expanding the mission,
since their presence contributes to stability in the region.
Recalling that the number of mission personnel has doubled thanks to
the efforts of the French side, among others, he stressed that the
issue of extending the terms of their presence is being determined in
Brussels.
When asked if the agendas of France and Armenia align on the issue
of ensuring the right of return of the people of Artsakh as
recognized by the International Court, and how he envisions its
implementation, Decottignies stated that nearly the entire Armenian
population of Nagorno-Karabakh, over 100 thousand people, was forced
to flee.
"I say "forced" to flee, because it was not a voluntary decision.
After a nine-month siege and a brutal military assault, there is no
way this could have been a decision by choice. It is especially
important that the resolution adopted by the International
Organization of Francophonie on October 5 recognized that these
people were forced to leave. The first thing, the urgent thing, which
we did immediately, and we were the first respondent country at that
time, was to help these people and assist Armenia welcoming them."
the ambassador recalled.
According to the diplomat, refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh are a
vulnerable group that still needs help. "This does not mean that we
will compromise on their right to return. Because their right to
return is not an opinion. It is an obligation, the decision of the
International Court of Justice of November 17, 2023 is mandatory for
all UN member states, including Azerbaijan. Of course, we know, and
the refugees themselves know, that the conditions currently not
conducive for that. Is there a difference in position with the
Armenian government? I don't think so. Firstly, we support the
efforts of the Armenian government to accept and integrate these
refugees. Secondly, the decision-making process by the International
Court was carried out at the initiative of the Armenian government,"
he added.
To the remark that the issue is linked to the creation of
opportunities for return, the ambassador gave an affirmative answer,
emphasizing that they are working to make that opportunity a reality.
Asked whether there has been any progress in sending a UNESCO
monitoring mission to Artsakh to prevent the destruction of Armenian
cultural heritage, Decottignies noted that the destruction of
Armenian heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh, be it religious sites, graves,
public buildings, ordinary houses or even neighborhoods, is a major
concern to Paris. "The French Minister of Culture was crystal clear
about that during her visit to Yerevan last year. The members of the
International Organization of La Francophonie were also clear in
their statement of October 7, 2023 regarding Armenia. UNESCO must
have access to Nagorno-Karabakh," the diplomat added.
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