Azerbaijan, Baku, Feb. 9 / Trend A. Badalova /
France's position on the prompt resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict will stay stable regardless of the French supreme Constitutional Council's decision on "Armenian genocide" law, Andre Reichardt, First Vice-President of the Regional Council of Alsace (France), Senator of Bas-Rhin told in an interview to Trend during his visit to Azerbaijan.
"France supports return of refugees to their homeland, and this position is stable and will not change," Reichardt said.
With regard to the decision of Constitutional Council, Reichardt said that at the moment, from the juridical point of view there is a bigger possibility that so-called "Armenian genocide" law will be repealed. However, he stressed that the Constitutional Council is independent judicial body, and it is too early to speak about the exact decision.
French parliamentarians appealed to the country's supreme Constitutional Council to overturn a bill that penalizes denial of "Armenian genocide" claims. The council is now expected to examine whether the bill, passed in both houses of the French Parliament, violates the French constitution and its founding base of freedom of expression.
Some 77 senators from across the political divide made the appeal to the court. Another 65 lawmakers in the lower house agreed to the appeal.
Reichardt believes that the relations between Azerbaijan and France will not suffer whichever the decision of the Council might be.
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 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.