Azerbaijani Press Council addresses Macron over Senate President’s remarks

The Azerbaijani Press Council has sent an open letter to French President Emmanuel Macron.

The letter reads that Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan was received by President of the French Senate Gérard Larcher during his working visit to France on July 11-13, APA reports.

On July 13, Gérard Larcher wrote on Twitter that during the meeting with Alen Simonyan on July 11, he demanded the immediate opening of the Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh with Armenia, and urged France to speed up the provision of defensive weapons to Armenia, alleging to ensure Armenia’s security.

“This position of the Senate President, the upper chamber of the French Parliament, caused a serious protest in the Azerbaijani society, as well as the media dissatisfaction in our country. One of the points that cause serious dissatisfaction is also the distribution and approval of Larcher's publication in individual French media.

“We believe that such an opinion of the Senate President is an attempt to oppose efforts aimed at achieving peace in the South Caucasus region. Unfortunately, this attempt was brought to the attention of the French public with the help of various media outlets, thus, in fact, the beginning of the formation of a military atmosphere was laid.

“Currently, negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia are ongoing. The Azerbaijani media are closely following the efforts aimed at resolving issues such as bringing the two countries to a common denominator, signing a peace treaty, fully opening communications in the region, and delimiting borders.

“This process is of great public interest and is the focus of attention of the European Union. Under the current circumstances, when the peace agenda is relevant, we consider unacceptable this message of Larcher, aimed at arming Armenia and, ultimately, militarizing the region. The fact that for almost thirty years, no steps were taken aimed at a fair resolution of the conflict, but on the contrary, Armenia was continuously armed, creating conditions for the commission of new crimes by the occupier.

“We believe that the world community, including the French public and the media, should first of all, take this into account, counteract the further growth of tension in the region and the implementation of undesirable scenarios. The promotion of Larcher's ideas threatens the peace agenda, which is still fragile in our region, and sets the stage for the growth of militarism.

“This causes regret by the Press Council, which is considered one of the important public institutions in our country and unites leading media and journalistic organizations, as well as various sections of Azerbaijani society. Azerbaijani journalists believe that the responsibility for any unpleasant situation, armed escalation, and other tendencies of tension will fall directly on the French state and its leadership.”