Today, the French Senate will discuss a new resolution on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, which calls on the government to impose sanctions against Azerbaijan in connection with the last September attack.  The document also calls on Baku to withdraw its forces from the territory of Armenia and guarantee that the status of the Lachine Corridor remains unchanged, according to the statement of November 9, 2020.

“We call on the government, together with European allies, to consider the means of giving the strongest and most adequate response to the new Azerbaijani attacks, including confiscation of the property of Azerbaijani leaders and the possibility of placing a ban on the import of Azerbaijani gas and oil,” the document says.

The Parliament also asks the French government to consider the issue of creating a humanitarian office in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as to show Paris’ support to Yerevan by all means, discussing the strengthening of Armenia’s defense capabilities.

The resolution is advisory in nature and not binding for implementation. It was authored by the same group of senators who submitted a resolution two years ago, after the 44-day war, regarding the need to recognize the independence of Artsakh.  That resolution was adopted almost unanimously in 2020 with a ratio of 305 votes to 1, and it remained on paper.  Moreover, during the discussions, the representative of the government, the deputy foreign minister of France, expressed his opposition, claiming that “such a unilaterally adopted decision may not be effective for determining the status of Artsakh”.

 It is not clear what the position of the French government is regarding the resolution to be voted on today.  It is known that days before the discussions, last weekend, the French president had a telephone conversation with the Azerbaijani president.  The conversation took place at the initiative of the French side, and as the Elysée Palace reported, Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed France’s readiness to support the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, in the direction of reaching a political solution.  The president of Azerbaijan also emphasized the need to “show neutrality, impartiality and a balanced approach” in that process.

It should be noted that the citizens of Artsakh are carrying out an action in front of the French embassy in RA. They will deliver a letter to the ambassador in support of the resolution to be discussed by the French Senate.