The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the May 23 parliamentary elections in Nagorno-Karabakh.

The conditions for a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict acceptable to all the parties concerned are presently a subject of negotiations within the OSCE Minsk Group, under the mediation of three co-chair countries-France, U.S. and Russia. In this context, under no circumstances can the May 23 elections affect the ongoing peace process and determine the future status of Nagorno-Karabakh, says the statement on the French Foreign Ministry website reads.

France together with its U.S. and Russian partners reaffirms its determination to support the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders in finding a balanced political settlement of the Karabakh conflict an agreement based on the principles of the Helsinki Final Act on non-use of force or menace, territorial integrity and people’s right to self-determination.

L.A.