French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Wednesday accused Russia of wanting to
“punish
Armenia
”
for its
“aspiration for peace and respect for its sovereignty, principles that
(Moscow) flouts in Ukraine.”
Russia
“wants to punish Armenia, because it chose the path of the fight against impunity, by joining the International Criminal Court”
and
“quite simply, because it chose democracy and the State of right
,” added the head of government, who was speaking at the annual dinner of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations in France (CCAF).
“Complacent attitude”
Gabriel Attal also castigated
“the complacent attitude of Russia which did not condemn the use of force”
by Azerbaijan in the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, where he lived until the end of last year a majority Armenian population, and
“in reality, endorsed” it
.
The “so-called “
peacekeeping”
Russian forces
have allowed the humanitarian crisis to take hold
,” he added.
Territorial disputes oppose Armenia and Azerbaijan, two former Soviet republics which clashed during two active wars, in the early 1990s and in 2020, for control of the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, finally reconquered in September 2023 by Baku.
In recent months, several rounds of negotiations have produced no results.
Since the reconquest of Nagorno-Karabakh, Yerevan suspects Azerbaijan of having other territorial ambitions to the detriment of Armenia, which Baku disputes.
Unfailing support
France, host to a large Armenian diaspora, said it was ready to participate in mediation efforts, while displaying its unwavering support for Armenia, with which it strengthened its cooperation in February. defense.
Gabriel Attal demanded that Azerbaijan
“withdraw its forces from occupied positions”
in Armenia, estimating that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev
“himself recognized that Azerbaijani forces had advanced to several points of Armenian territory”
.
“The challenge today is to help Armenia defend its independence, its democracy, its territory, in a word: its sovereignty” and to “preserve the territorial integrity of Armenia
,” he said. he hammered.