Hot debates on Nagorno-Karabakh were held on France 24 TV channel.  Member of the the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF), Franck Papazian, responded to the aggressive insinuations of the Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Elchin Amirbayov.

Papazian noted that the ceasefire on the Line of Contact between the Karabakh-Azerbaijani opposing forces wasn’t violated for the first time ten days ago:  Azerbaijan constantly violated it, since the moment of signing the ceasefire agreement in 1994, and currently it refuses to establish electronic control over the border, as suggested by the OSCE.

“As to the history, Nagorno-Karabakh is a historic Armenian land. In 1923, Karabakh was handed to Azerbaijan by Stalin, the most bloodthirsty dictator of the 20th century. Since 1923, the Armenians lived in the condition of segregation, and in 1988 the Karabakh people took advantage of their right to self-determination, to which Azerbaijan responded by the pogroms in Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad and Shushi,” he said.   

Responding to the Azerbaijani ambassador’s question on the territorial integrity, the representative of the French Armenians noted that the international community also recognizes the peoples’ right to self-determination.

“The Karabakh issue can be solved only in the context of self-determination and under the control of the international organizations. In 1988, Azerbaijan started a war, which was won by Armenia. Karabakh became self-proclaimed; the Minsk Group constantly suggested Azerbaijan this version of solution, which the latter turned down,” Franck Papazian said.  He also added that “today Azerbaijan is a caricature, which the entire civilized war and international organizations accuse,” and that “Azerbaijan is run by Aliyev’s regime, which constantly urged and keeps calling for war.”

“Karabakh will never be returned to Azerbaijan,” Papazian concluded.

The French anchor also expressed her stance during the polemic. “The world sees that what happened in Karabakh worked in favor of Aliyev, who tried to solve his domestic economic problems, playing the national card,” she said, touching on the recent escalation of Karabakh conflict. The anchor also hinted at the considerable role of the Azerbaijani oil in the process of solving the political issues.