French ambassador clarifies Armenia’s early recognition of Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan

The French Ambassador to Armenia, Olivier Decottignies, has reaffirmed that Armenia recognized Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan long before the 2022 Prague Declaration.

In an interview with Public Radio of Armenia, Decottignies stated that the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, including Karabakh is acknowledged by both the international community and Armenia, Caliber.Az reports.

Addressing the claims of those who suggest that Armenia recognized “Nagorno-Karabakh” as part of Azerbaijan only during the 2022 Prague talks, Decottignies clarified, "If you are talking about the issue of recognising the government of ‘Nagorno-Karabakh’, it has never been recognised by the international community or even by Armenia."

He emphasized that Armenia had recognized “Nagorno-Karabakh” as part of Azerbaijan much earlier, citing the Almaty Declaration of 1991. According to the ambassador, the region was always considered a part of Soviet Azerbaijan, and this recognition was formalized in the Almaty Declaration.

“Armenia recognised that Karabakh is part of Azerbaijan back in the Almaty Declaration because it was a region, a province of Soviet Azerbaijan,” Decottignies explained.

He further criticized those who suggest that the 2022 Prague talks marked Armenia’s first recognition of Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan, calling such claims misleading.

“Those who claim that Armenia recognised ‘Nagorno-Karabakh’ as part of Azerbaijan in Prague in 2022 are lying,” he stated, adding that the Prague Declaration was merely a reference to Armenia’s earlier recognition in the Almaty Declaration.

By Vafa Guliyeva