Azerbaijani official slams French media for censorship

By Yusuf Ozcan

PARIS (AA) - The Azerbaijani ambassador in Paris slammed French news agency AFP for not publishing an interview conducted with him.

"Shame on AFP and Didier Lauras who refused to publish my interview," Rahman Mustafayev said in a tweet, attaching an email he received.

He also criticized other media outlets which he accused of "systematically refusing to give us our word."

"This is how freedom of expression 'works' in France," he added.

In an interview with Anadolu Agency last week, Mustafayev slammed France’s "indifferent stance" on Armenian occupation of Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

"Turkish diplomacy is working on solutions on Nagorno-Karabakh; they do not reciprocate Armenia’s provocation the same way by dropping bombs to places 250 kilometers away from the conflict zone," he said.

"I don't understand why this support disturbs the French elite," he added, "The Armenians are also violating French law by acknowledging Nagorno-Karabakh as Armenian territory."

Mustafayev said Azerbaijan’s Paris Embassy has been threatened and assaulted many times.

"If the rule of law is in question, then it is not normal for France to let all this happen," he said.

- Upper Karabakh conflict

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Upper Karabakh, an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan.

Fresh clashes erupted on Sept. 27 and international calls to halt fighting have gone unanswered. Armenia has continued its attacks on civilians and Azerbaijani forces.

The OSCE Minsk Group -- co-chaired by France, Russia, and the US -- was formed in 1992 to find a peaceful solution to the conflict, but to no avail. A cease-fire, however, was agreed upon in 1994.

Many world powers have urged for a cease-fire and initiating dialogue. Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev has said Turkey must be involved in the process to resolve the decades-long conflict.