No:175/20, Commentary of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan

We strongly condemn the statement by the President of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region Laurent Wauquiez, which distorts the essence of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, including the completely unrealistic and biased view about the military provocations committed by the Armenian armed forces on the border of the two countries since July 12 of this year.

The signing of 10 charters of cooperation between the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, which is dominated by the Armenian community and led by Laurent Wauquiez, known for his firm pro-Armenian position, and the illegal regime created in the occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan, clearly demonstrates the partiality of the position of the region's president.

This statement, grossly violating the norms and principles of international law, justifying the aggressive policy of Armenia, which keeps the internationally recognized territories of Azerbaijan under military occupation, does not correspond to the spirit of Azerbaijan-France bilateral relations, and also deals a serious blow to France's position as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. Such a one-sided and far from reality position of the president of the second largest region of France undermines the confidence of the Azerbaijani public in the impartial position of France as a co-chair of the Minsk Group.

The statement contradicts France's commitments at the international, European, bilateral, and national levels.

The Azerbaijani side expects that the co-chair of the Minsk Group from France will take real steps towards resolving the conflict, as well as take all necessary measures to prevent any activities of some representatives of the elected bodies of France, encouraging the so-called "regime" in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan.