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AZERBAIJAN PROTESTS TO FRANCE OVER MPS' KARABAKH VISIT
news.am
Aug 23, 2011
Armenia
Azerbaijan has sent a note of protest to the French Foreign Ministry
over the visit of four French deputies to separatist Nagorno-Karabakh.
The note, sent by Azerbaijan's embassy in Paris, demands an explanation
of the visit, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev
said on Tuesday.
"The deputies, who paid an illegal visit to the occupied lands
of Azerbaijan and thus showed disrespect for the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, will be declared personae non
gratae," 1news.az reported Abdullayev as saying.
The French Foreign Ministry responded that the Karabakh visit was
not an official one made through the French National Assembly, but
a private initiative by Guy Teissier, chairman of the parliamentary
commission for defence and the armed forces, Trend news agency
reported.
Teissier is mayor of two districts in Marseilles which have a
substantial ethnic Armenian population.
Azerbaijan's ambassador to France, Elchin Amirbayov, said that
Teissier was trying to gain support ahead of the June 2012 National
Assembly elections.
"It's not worth expecting any other explanation; it has been, remains
and probably will remain common practice to make such visits. The
French leadership can only express its dissatisfaction with the
visits," Amirbayov said.
"The French Foreign Ministry tried to persuade Teissier not to make
the trip. However, he decided to go, as the outcome of the elections
hangs on the visit," the ambassador continued, quoting the French
Foreign Ministry.
"Teissier's action does not signify solidarity with separatist
Nagorno-Karabakh, which he mentioned, but the importance of the votes
of the Armenians who live in his constituency."
The envoy said that officials at the French Foreign Ministry had
reacted with understanding to Azerbaijan's concern.
"We said in our note that this step does not improve bilateral
relations with Paris and harms the efforts of France, as a
country co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group on settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
"We expect the French Foreign Ministry to react on an official level to
the note and an official representative of the French Foreign Ministry
to set out at a briefing Paris' official position, as happened before,"
the ambassador concluded.
Regnum news agency reported earlier that a delegation of deputies from
the French National Assembly, led by Guy Teissier, had visited the
occupied lands of Azerbaijan. The delegation included Valerie Boyer,
Georges Colombier and Jacques Remiller.
Guy Teissier said during a meeting with representatives of the de
facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh that they were visiting the
territory to show their solidarity, according to Regnum.
Visits to the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh are technically
illegal without permission from Baku. In practice, many people visit
the breakaway territory.
news.am
Aug 23, 2011
Armenia
Azerbaijan has sent a note of protest to the French Foreign Ministry
over the visit of four French deputies to separatist Nagorno-Karabakh.
The note, sent by Azerbaijan's embassy in Paris, demands an explanation
of the visit, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Elman Abdullayev
said on Tuesday.
"The deputies, who paid an illegal visit to the occupied lands
of Azerbaijan and thus showed disrespect for the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, will be declared personae non
gratae," 1news.az reported Abdullayev as saying.
The French Foreign Ministry responded that the Karabakh visit was
not an official one made through the French National Assembly, but
a private initiative by Guy Teissier, chairman of the parliamentary
commission for defence and the armed forces, Trend news agency
reported.
Teissier is mayor of two districts in Marseilles which have a
substantial ethnic Armenian population.
Azerbaijan's ambassador to France, Elchin Amirbayov, said that
Teissier was trying to gain support ahead of the June 2012 National
Assembly elections.
"It's not worth expecting any other explanation; it has been, remains
and probably will remain common practice to make such visits. The
French leadership can only express its dissatisfaction with the
visits," Amirbayov said.
"The French Foreign Ministry tried to persuade Teissier not to make
the trip. However, he decided to go, as the outcome of the elections
hangs on the visit," the ambassador continued, quoting the French
Foreign Ministry.
"Teissier's action does not signify solidarity with separatist
Nagorno-Karabakh, which he mentioned, but the importance of the votes
of the Armenians who live in his constituency."
The envoy said that officials at the French Foreign Ministry had
reacted with understanding to Azerbaijan's concern.
"We said in our note that this step does not improve bilateral
relations with Paris and harms the efforts of France, as a
country co-chairing the OSCE Minsk Group on settlement of the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.
"We expect the French Foreign Ministry to react on an official level to
the note and an official representative of the French Foreign Ministry
to set out at a briefing Paris' official position, as happened before,"
the ambassador concluded.
Regnum news agency reported earlier that a delegation of deputies from
the French National Assembly, led by Guy Teissier, had visited the
occupied lands of Azerbaijan. The delegation included Valerie Boyer,
Georges Colombier and Jacques Remiller.
Guy Teissier said during a meeting with representatives of the de
facto authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh that they were visiting the
territory to show their solidarity, according to Regnum.
Visits to the Azerbaijani territory of Nagorno-Karabakh are technically
illegal without permission from Baku. In practice, many people visit
the breakaway territory.