The need for finding a fast solution to the Karabakh conflict has become apparent after the clashes on April 2-5 last year, French presidential candidate from the Socialist party, Benoît Hamon, said in an interview with Nouvelles d'Arménie.

According to him, the phrase “frozen conflict” is an inadequate description of the situation in which numerous people die every year. “France has its own obligations, along with Russia and U.S. Last year we immediately mobilized to achieve ceasefire with partners as soon as possible. But it would be wrong to consider that the situation has stabilized. The clashes may start any moment, this having consequences on the entire region. Thus, everyone should find a solution, whose elements are already known. These are the Madrid Principles of 2010,” Hamon said.

He also noted that in case of becoming a president, he will continue to work exactly to this end: “Each side should fulfill its obligations.”

As to including the Armenian Genocide Day in the official calendar of the country, the politician noted that François Hollande once proposed to include all the genocides and crimes against humanity in one calendar day. “If I become a president, I will continue working in that direction,” the candidate said.

Apart from this, Hamon referred to the criminalization of the Genocide denial.  “Even if the legal ways of criminalizing the Genocide denial faced obstacles, which we know about, we should not give up. There are various ways to retain the memory on this tragedy so that the crimes against humanity committed in the past cannot recur in the future,” he said.