Civilnet
By Alexander Pracht
Azerbaijan’s latest demands toward Armenia for finalizing a normalization agreement are unacceptable, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said in parliament on Wednesday.
"Azerbaijan is now demanding a revision of the Armenian constitution. This new precondition is unacceptable and delays the signing," Barrot stated during a hearing at the French National Assembly.
Last month, Armenia and Azerbaijan each announced they had reached an agreement on a normalization deal following negotiations aimed at resolving decades-long conflict. However, the treaty has not yet been signed.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev reiterated on Wednesday that Armenia must first accept what he described as Baku’s "legitimate demands" before the agreement can be finalized. Azerbaijan is specifically pushing for Armenia to remove references to Nagorno-Karabakh from its constitution, an amendment that would require a referendum in Armenia, potentially further delaying the process.
Aliyev has also called for the dissolution of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s Minsk Group, which has mediated the Karabakh conflict since the early 1990s. Armenia’s high-ranking officials, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan have indicated that they would agree to disband the group, but only after the deal is signed.
Barrot also highlighted France’s concerns over the persecution of Armenians from Karabakh in Azerbaijan, namely the region’s former high-ranking officials, prisoners of war, and civilian captives.
"France, as well as the European Union, whose mission recently visited the region, is closely following the situation of all arbitrarily detained individuals and is calling for their release as part of the ongoing normalization process," he said.
The French foreign policy chief added that France and the European Union could play a role in fostering peace in the South Caucasus by "helping to open borders, end the region’s isolation, and benefit local populations."
Following Barrot’s remarks, Azerbaijan on Thursday dismissed the French minister’s remarks regarding its demands toward Armenia.
"Questioning the legitimate demand to amend the Armenian Constitution, which contains claims to Azerbaijani territories, that has been discussed for the past two and a half years, while presenting it as a new precondition, is unacceptable," Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry stated. "If France, as it claims, indeed supports the early signing of a peace agreement, then it should encourage Armenia to take appropriate steps."
Also on Thursday, Barrot hosted his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Paris. A readout from the French side stated: "The ministers stressed that the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with due respect for the two States’ territorial integrity and sovereignty, should enable the South Caucasus to become an area of peace, integration, and cooperation." A Turkish readout has not yet been issued.
The statement is particularly notable as Ankara has repeatedly backed Baku’s calls for an extraterritorial corridor through Armenia’s Syunik province, which Yerevan argues would violate its sovereignty. Armenia has urged Turkey to contribute to the peace process by opening their shared border, a decision both sides had made three years ago but which remains unimplemented due to Azerbaijani pressure.
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