Azerbaijan submits note of protest to France

French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zacharie Gross was summoned to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on September 19.

During the meeting, a note of protest was submitted to Gross in connection with the recent attack of radical Armenian groups on the Azerbaijani embassy in France, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry told Caliber.Az on September 19.

Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov informed the diplomat during the meeting that a group of radical extremist forces of the Armenian Diaspora in France attacked the embassy of the Republic of Azerbaijan in Paris by grossly violating the laws of France and generally accepted norms of international law. During the attack, the embassy building was damaged and this endangered the activity of the diplomatic mission and the lives of diplomatic staff.

Khalafov expressed a protest over the creation of conditions and untimely prevention of the radical Armenian groups’ actions by French law enforcement services. He also regretted France’s inability to fulfil the obligation to ensure the security of diplomatic missions by the host country in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961.

Moreover, an act of vandalism that poses a threat to the diplomatic mission and its staff requires a thorough investigation by French law enforcement agencies, an appropriate legal assessment, the prosecution of responsible individuals and compensation for the caused damage, according to Khalafov.

The French ambassador, for his part, expressed his regret over the incident at the Azerbaijani embassy.

According to him, the appropriate steps would be taken in connection with the appeal of the Azerbaijani side to legally assess the incident.