French Ambassador: Karabakh conflict is not suspended

ArmInfo.French Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lacote is surprised at how deeply the issue related to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict sits in Armenian society.  "I'm only two months in Armenia, but during that time there were always deaths on the contact line of the troops, from the beginning of 2017 to this day, 57 people were killed in the conflict zone, which all indicates that this is not a frozen  conflict.

This is a real conflict that has a serious impact on society and the government of the country, and we are concerned about  this, "the ambassador said at a press conference in Yerevan on  December 12.

At that, he stressed that is why France set about settling the  conflict. According to him, the principle of non-use of force should  be respected, since the conflict does not have a military solution,  as well as the other two fundamental principles of the settlement,  namely the right of peoples to self-determination and territorial  integrity. Lacote stressed that it is necessary to adhere to all  three principles laid down in the basis of the settlement.

At the same time, the Ambassador  stated that France is committed to  its intermediary  obligations within the framework of the OSCE Minsk  Group and will continue to assist the parties in finding a solution  to the conflict. But, he said, in this conflict France is only an  intermediary, and the ways of finding a long-term and lasting peace  remain for the parties.

Lacote  also stated that the French leadership is closely monitoring  the situation in the Karabakh conflict zone and official Paris  positively regards both the past meeting of the presidents in Armenia  and Azerbaijan in Geneva and the upcoming meeting of the foreign  ministers of the two countries in early 2018, most likely in January.   At the same time, the diplomat found it difficult to provide details  of the negotiation process, noting that he is the French ambassador  to Armenia, and his mission is to inform the relevant structures of  his country about the impact of the conflict on Armenian society.  Lacote added that the mission for the settlement of the conflict is  entrusted to another French ambassador who mediates in the framework  of the OSCE Minsk Group.