Azerbaijan, Baku, March 10 / Trend S.Agayeva /
The French Foreign Ministry will make a statement regarding Foreign Minister Alain Juppe's remarks in the country's parliament on March 9 that "the right of peoples to self-determination is a fundamental principle," the Azerbaijani Embassy in France told Trend on Thursday.
Juppe's remarks were criticized by Azerbaijani Ambassador Elchin Amirbeyov, who asked for a meeting with Juppe on this occasion.
The embassy has today appealed to the ministry for an explanation about the remarks. Later, the French Foreign Ministry's representatives stated that a separate statement will be issued on this matter, the diplomatic mission said.
French MP Francois Rochebloine asked Juppe "how the right of peoples to self-determination can be applied to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict" in parliament on March 9.
The embassy stressed that based on their information Juppe was pointing out statements made by the heads of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries, which were adopted in Muskoka and L'Aquila. Answering Rochebloine's question, Juppe said the right of peoples to self-determination is also important, the embassy said.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan since 1992, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and 7 surrounding districts.
Azerbaijan and Armenia signed a ceasefire agreement in 1994. The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group - Russia, France, and the U.S. - are currently holding the peace negotiations.
Armenia has not yet implemented the U.N. Security Council's four resolutions on the liberation of the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding regions.
