Baku condemns French premier’s allegations against Azerbaijan

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – Baku on Thursday condemned what it described as “anti-Azerbaijani allegations” by French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal during an annual event hosted by Armenian organizations in France a day earlier.

A commentary by Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada published by the ministry said Baku reminds Attal that the measures taken by his country are fully consistent with the norms and principles of international law.

Expressing that Attal condemned Baku’s anti-terrorism operation in Karabakh and accused it of “occupying” Armenian territories, Hajizada said Azerbaijan’s measures are also consistent with the resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council.

Attal demanded Baku withdraw its forces from “occupied positions” in Armenian territories at an annual dinner of the Coordinating Council of Armenian Organizations of France, French Ambassador to Yerevan Olivier Decottignies said on X.

“It is outrageous that France, which did not object (to) Armenia's almost 30-year aggression and occupation of Azerbaijani territories, as well as the fact that Armenia still continues to keep 8 Azerbaijani villages under occupation, accuses Azerbaijan of using force without any apparent cause,” Hajizada also said.

“Once again, we call on the French side to learn from its history, not to interfere in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan and to put an end to such provocative statements,” he added.

Relations between Baku and Yerevan have remained tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

Most of the territory was liberated by Azerbaijan during a war in the fall of 2020, which ended after a Russian-brokered peace agreement that also opened the door to normalization.

Azerbaijan established full sovereignty in Karabakh after an anti-terrorism operation in September 2023, after which separatist forces in the region surrendered.