Azerbaijan lodges protest with France after attack on its embassy in Paris

By Ceyhun Alizade

ANKARA (AA) - Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry on Monday handed a protest note to the French envoy in Baku over the recent attacks by the "radical Armenian groups" on its embassy in Paris.

French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Zacharie Gross was summoned to the ministry following the attacks on Sunday.

Azerbaijan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khalaf Khalafov informed the ambassador about “a demonstration of brutal violations of French law and international legal norms by a group of radical extremist groups of the Armenian diaspora,” a ministry said.

“The embassy building was damaged during the attack, and diplomatic representation and the lives of colleagues were threatened,” the statement added.

The ministry demanded that “the act of vandalism, which endangered the diplomatic mission and its staff, should be thoroughly investigated by the French law enforcement agencies, an appropriate legal assessment should be issued, the guilty persons should be brought to justice, and compensation should be provided for the damage caused.”

The French ambassador, according to the statement, said that the incident was “regrettable,” adding that based on the request of the Azerbaijani side, “relevant steps will be taken to provide a legal assessment of the incident.”

On Sunday, Azerbaijani Ambassador in Paris Rahman Mustafayev shared a video on Twitter showing a number of Armenian supporters with Armenian flags on their shoulders storming the embassy, kicking and punching the building entrance, and using a barricade to break the door.