Residents of Hadrut who were forced to seek refuge in Yerevan protested in front of the Embassy of France because France is a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. They were protesting against the fact that the statement signed between Nikol Pashinyan, Ilham Aliyev, and Vladimir Putin requires that the Hadrut region be conceded to Azerbaijan. The ambassador of France to Armenia, Jonathan Lacote, met with the protesters and listened to them. “The embassy is always open to you. What is taking place now is creating a tense situation. We know that Hadrut has suffered a lot of damage, we know that the people of Hadrut are among those who suffered the most, and we know that the situation in Armenia is difficult. There are many questions surrounding the statement,” Jonathan Lacote said.
Then, he emphasized that France also has a lot of questions surrounding the statement because it did not sign the statement. “Our priority is to support people who suffered. President Macron will be meeting with a representative from Armenia. As I said, we did not sign that statement. President Macron said that the agreement must also reflect Armenia’s interests. I want to remind you that our embassy is always open to you so that you can present your problems despite the fact that I have never been to Artsakh or Hadrut.”
The ambassador said, “I learned about the statement when I read about it that night on Nikol Pashinyan’s Facebook page. I was very surprised. I reported the news to Paris. We have been analyzing the statement since Tuesday, and it has raised a lot of questions for us. But the following facts are positive: the ceasefire, the exchange of prisoners, the suffering civilians went through is now over, and no more young soldiers have to die. But we are still analyzing the document, which is raising a lot of questions regarding safety in the region. We are making every effort to defend Armenia’s interests. First, this is a three-sided agreement signed between Armenia, Russia, and Azerbaijan, which the other two Minsk Group co-chairs, France and the USA, did not sign. We do not know about the nature of this document; it only speaks of a ceasefire. We have a lot of questions, such as how it came to be and whether or not it needs to be ratified in parliament. There are lots of questions, so we are discussing these problems.”
As far as what steps can be taken, the ambassador said, “France will examine all of its abilities to make sure that peace can be established in the region and so that it can defend Armenia’s interests, especially the interests of the people of Artsakh who have suffered from this conflict and who now are in Armenia. We must provide them with humanitarian assistance, especially the families who have lost everything. President Macron will be meeting with Armenian organizations in Paris to outline French humanitarian aid. That will specifically be for Armenia.”
Read also
The women of Hadrut told reporters, “The ambassador kindly accepted and understood us and our pain. He confirmed that Hadrut has always been a part of Artsakh and that Armenians can expect France’s support. He emphasized that France did not have any say in that drastic document. So, Macron will be receiving Armenian representatives so that they can discuss some details, understand the situation, and, if possible, get involved so that no historically drastic mistakes take place. The ambassador emphasized that we can expect humanitarian aid.
They also said that they will continue protesting until the co-chair nations support justice.
Luiza Sukiasyan
