Western Azerbaijan Community Condemns French Senate Chairman’s Call to Arm Armenia
Western Azerbaijan Community Urges France to Halt Weapons Supply to Armenia
Baku, July 18 – The Western Azerbaijan Community has strongly condemned the recent call made by Gerard Larcher, the Speaker of the French Senate, urging the French Government to provide additional weapons to Armenia. In a statement released today, the Community expressed its concerns that such a move would be detrimental and counterproductive, given Armenia’s proven record of violating international law.
The Community believes that providing further support to Armenia’s massive armament program would only escalate tensions in the region and hinder the prospects of peace and stability. Armenia has a history of acting aggressively against its neighbor Azerbaijan, committing war crimes and crimes against humanity whenever it perceives military superiority.
It is crucial to highlight that Armenia ethnically cleansed all Azerbaijanis from its territory, launched unprovoked attacks on Azerbaijan, and illegally occupied a large part of Azerbaijani land. This occupation resulted in the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their homes and the destruction of almost all Azerbaijani settlements and cultural heritage under Armenia’s control. Armenia’s military actions led to the deaths of over 20,000 Azerbaijanis, predominantly civilians, and the fate of nearly 4,000 missing Azerbaijani individuals remains uncertain.
Despite the presence of a Russian peacekeeping force in the territories of Azerbaijan, Armenia continues to defy international norms by refusing to withdraw its troops and maintaining military occupation over eight Azerbaijani villages in the border area. This further undermines the peace process and violates Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity.
The intentions of Armenia are deeply troubling, and supplying additional weapons would only empower their aggressive ambitions, jeopardizing the stability of the entire region. The existing defense contracts between France and Armenia have already had a destabilizing effect and complicated the ongoing peace process. Providing further armament would be irresponsible and exacerbate the challenges faced by the Western Azerbaijan Community in exercising their right to return to their ancestral lands.
The Community urges the French Government to immediately revoke any export licenses for existing defense contracts and refrain from authorizing further export of weapons to Armenia. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, France has a responsibility to promote international peace and security by ensuring that Armenia adheres to international law, respects Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and enables the safe and dignified return of the Azerbaijanis to their homes.
Instead of arming an aggressive and warmongering Armenia, the Community calls on France to actively support and advocate for their safe and dignified return. They also urge France to take measures to ensure that Armenia promptly and effectively responds to their calls for constructive dialogue on this issue.
The Western Azerbaijan Community emphasizes the importance of France’s role in promoting international peace and security and calls on the French Government to fulfill its international responsibility.
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