French Senator Prepares Proposal to Recognize Nagorno-Karabakh Republic
French lawmaker Valerie Boyer says she will submit a proposal to the Senate to recognize the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Republic of Artsakh), where a confrontation between Azerbaijan and Armenia has been ongoing since the end of last month.
"To oppose the advance of Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh is also to oppose the expansion of Turkish Islam across Europe. This week I will table a text in the Senate to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh and condemn the actions of Turkey and Azerbaijan," Boyer wrote on Twitter.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told Le Figaro daily last week that France should adopt a balanced stance on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Turkey has pledged support to Azerbaijan since hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh resumed at the end of September. The unrecognized Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh proclaimed independence from Baku after the breakdown of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s.
On 9 October, talks were held in Moscow between the foreign ministers of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia with the aim of reaching a Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement.
The Moscow meeting resulted in a humanitarian ceasefire that came into force on 10 October but nonetheless failed to hold. A new truce has since been agreed upon. It came into effect at 20:00 GMT on Saturday, 17 October, but both sides have been reporting violations.
Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told reporters on Monday that a verification mechanism to ensure compliance with the ceasefire in the Nagorno-Karabakh region was needed, and the issue was currently being discussed.
On Sunday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, said in a statement that the UN chief was expecting the conflicting sides in Nagorno-Karabakh to fully abide by the commitments under the most recent humanitarian truce and to immediately resume substantive negotiations under the auspices of the OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) Minsk Group, which is co-chaired by France, Russia, and the United States.
- Source : Sputniknews.com
