Baku, Azerbaijan, July 6
By Leman Zeynalova – Trend:
The murder of Azerbaijani civilians in Alkhanli village of Fizuli district is a consequence of the international community’s inaction, Senator Andre Reichardt, Chairman of the France-Caucasus Friendship Group in the French Senate told Trend July 6.
France’s President Emmanuel Macron and OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs should take measures to resolve the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict by peaceful means in accordance with the international law, said the senator.
Reichardt believes that France plays an extremely important role in resolving this conflict.
The international community should finally take measures to ensure the fulfillment of the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council demanding the withdrawal of Armenian forces from the Azerbaijani territories occupied by Armenia, noted the French senator.
Reichardt said he doesn’t think that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is a frozen one, because there are regularly casualties among civilians.
Civilians should not suffer due to the inaction of the international community, said the senator, adding that the international community should take measures for the conflict’s settlement and France should take urgent measures in this regard.
It should be noted that on July 4 at about 20:40 (GMT+4 hours), the Armenian armed forces again violated ceasefire and, using 82-mm and 120-mm mortars and grenade launchers, shelled Azerbaijani positions and territories where the civilian population lives, namely the Alkhanli village of the country’s Fuzuli district, thereby grossly violating the requirements of international law, the Azerbaijani defense ministry said earlier.
As a result of this provocation, the residents of the village Sakhiba Guliyeva, 50, and Zakhra Guliyeva, 2, were killed. Servinaz Guliyeva, 52, who got wounded, was taken to the hospital and was operated on.
The conflict between the two South Caucasus countries began in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against Azerbaijan. As a result of the ensuing war, in 1992 Armenian armed forces occupied 20 percent of Azerbaijan, including the Nagorno-Karabakh region and seven surrounding districts.
The 1994 ceasefire agreement was followed by peace negotiations. Armenia has not yet implemented four UN Security Council resolutions on withdrawal of its armed forces from the Nagorno-Karabakh and the surrounding districts.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @Lyaman_Zeyn