Lena Badeyan
Public Radio of Armenia
“The Madrid Principles are the most important document targeted at the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict,” French Ambassador to Armenia Henry Reynaud told reporters in Yerevan on the eve of the Bastille Day.
The Ambassador said one of the most important principles is the non-use of force or the threat of force. Therefore, he noted that “it’s unacceptable for France to sell weapons to the conflicting parties.”
Mr. Reynaud refrained from commenting on how the sale of Russian weapons to Azerbaijan could affect the conflict settlement process. “I’m not authorized to comment on Armenian-Russian relations,” he said.
The Ambassador said he hopes the Presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan will accept French President Francois Hollande’s invitation to meet in Paris, despite the statement of the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry that they are waiting for “concreteness.”
As for France’s concrete proposal, it is as follows: “It is necessary to accelerate the negotiation process with a final target of establishing a stable and reliable peace.”
As a proponent of criminalization of the Genocide denial, France will support Switzerland in appealing the European Court of Human Rights decision on Dogu Perincek case,” Ambassador Reynaud said. He hopes that the positive verdict of the Court will contribute to the adoption of a law criminalizing the Genocide denial in France.
