Baku expresses its strong protest over the visit of Ashot Gulyan, who presented himself as a representative of the illegal regime created in the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia, to France, one of the co-chairing countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, Hikmat Hajiyev, spokesman for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry, toldAPA.

Hajiyev emphasized that Azerbaijan’s Embassy in France will present a note of protest to the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France in connection with this issue.

France has taken no action despite the fact that Ashot Gulyan, a resident of the Azerbaijani city of Khankendi, has entered EU territory with an Armenian diplomatic passport means violation of the visa facilitation and readmission agreement between Armenia and the European Union, the spokesman noted.

“Such systematic trips and the use of French territory to promote the illegitimate regime raise serious questions about France’s impartiality as a co-chair country, casting doubt on this country’s reliability on an international level as well as in Azerbaijani society,” he said.

“Articles LL1115-1 and L1115-5 of General Code on Local Authorities of France, as well as a letter sent to local authorities (prefects) by the French foreign and interior ministries on 2 July 2015 emphasize that all international ties of French self-governance authorities shall be in accord with the international obligations assumed by France and that local governance authorities are not authorized to sign any agreement with any government not recognized by the French government. However, we do not see that prefects, which are authorized representatives of the French central government, abolish illegal documents signed between local bodies and the illegal regime created in Azerbaijan’s occupied territories,”  Hajiyev added.

The fact that France’s central government has recently demonstrated its decisive position on the issue of Corsica, but creates conditions for promotion of the separatist regime established in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is regarded as another example of double standards, he stressed.

He said that Azerbaijan urges France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, to fulfill its obligations, comply with the norms and principles of international law and to prevent such actions against the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan will present a note of protest to the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in connection with this issue, added Hajiyev.

He emphasized that from now on, Azerbaijan will act under the principle of reciprocity in relations with France.

Source  en.apa.az