“France plays an active role in his capacity of co-chair of Minsk Group in order to find a peaceful and lasting solution to the Karabakh conflict,” US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Pascal Meunier said in an interview with APA.
“The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan should prepare peoples for peace, not war,” the Ambassador said. “The position of the French government is to find a solution. We are very committed to this and have organized many meetings in Paris. It is an issue that we discuss both with Armenia and Azerbaijan. We want to organize meetings with Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Strasbourg and Paris,” he added.
“The time for reconciliation has come. It is also an approach supported by the European Union, which also has proposed to organize contacts between peoples. It is very important. You can not reconcile two nations if they are told by governments that they are enemies. It is something that has to be done. I think it is understood by both sides of the conflict and we hope it will be reflected in actions,” the Ambassador stated.
According to Pascal Meunier, there is not any rivalry between the three co-chairs, they work together as a team. “All three countries work as a team. Because I do not think that one of them can solve the problem without its two partners,” he said.
“Many observers are not expecting a breakthrough in negotiations this year because of major elections in Armenia and Azerbaijan. But it does not mean that it will be a lost year. I think it is a year to prepare new ideas and to discuss them with both sides. Its also a step forward,” the Ambassador concluded.
