Azerbaijani spokesman: French president's remarks distort position of parties

Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesman Aykhan Hajizada has said that French President Emmanuel Macron’s statement following the results of a five-party meeting in Chisinau on June 1 does not reflect and distorts the position of the parties.

“Unfortunately, this is not the first case of such behaviour by France, and it does not make a positive contribution to the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as to peace and stability in the region,” he said, Caliber.Az reports, citing the Foreign Ministry's website.

Earlier, the French president issued a statement based on the results of the five-way meeting between the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, France, Germany, and the European Council held in the Moldovan capital Chisinau on June 1.

"The European leaders called on Armenia and Azerbaijan to adhere to all their commitments, particularly regarding the quick release of prisoners of war. Also, they emphasized the importance of the European Union monitoring mission for the benefit of Armenia. Also, the parties emphasised the importance of implementing the rights and security guarantees of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians. The President of France specifically emphasised the importance of abandoning any hostile rhetoric and continuing efforts to restore peace for the benefit of the entire population of the region,” the statement read.

In a statement issued by EU Council President Charles Michel, he noted that the parties continued to discuss all the elements of the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalisation.

“After Prague and Brussels, we continued to discuss all elements of Arm-Az normalisation. Important to implement commitments. We also discussed the next Brussels meeting which will take place on 21 July. Reiterated the proposal to continue the discussion with Armenian, Azerbaijani, German and French leaders in the margins of the Granada EPC [European Political Community - ed.] summit in October,” Michel added.

Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev also described the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Armenian leaders as “positive” and “fruitful”.