BAKU, Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan has summoned the French Ambassador, Pascal Meunier, for holding talks with officials from Nagorno-Karabakh in the capital Paris.
According to a statement issued by Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry Wednesday, French envoy to Azerbaijan was summoned and was handed over a note expressing dismay about the visit of Nagorno-Karabakh's “so-called leader”, Bako Sahakyan, in France.
Azeri Deputy Foreign Minister Halef Halefov met the French ambassador and handed over the note, the statement added.
"These kinds of situations are contrary to the spirit of relations between Azerbaijan and France, and harm the solution of a dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia," Halefov said.
He also said that this situation was an alleged manifestation of “double-standards” of France, which he said might affect bilateral relations.
The invasion of the Azeribaijan territory of Nagorno-Karabakh by Armenia started in 1988 with minor conflicts, but evolved into a full war in 1992.
Since the end of the war in 1994, Armenian and Azeri delegations have held talks over the status of Nagorno-Karabakh under the supervision of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Minsk Group.
