French, Azerbaijani, Armenian foreign ministers discuss Karabakh

By Yusuf Ozcan

PARIS (AA) - The foreign ministers of France, Azerbaijan and Armenia met Wednesday in Paris to discuss southwestern Azerbaijan’s Karabakh region.

According to a statement from France's Foreign Ministry, Jean-Yves Le Drian held separate meetings with Jeyhun Bayramov and Ararat Mirzoyan and they then held a trilateral meeting as part of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group.

France seeks to contribute to strengthening the dialogue between the parties and establishing lasting peace in the South Caucasus, said the statement.

It was also noted that Le Drian wishes to continue the dialogue with Azerbaijan and Armenia.

- Liberation of Karabakh

Relations between the former Soviet republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Upper Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

New clashes erupted on Sept. 27, 2020, with the Armenian army attacking civilians and Azerbaijani forces and violating humanitarian cease-fire agreements.

The fighting ended with a Russia-brokered agreement on Nov. 10, 2020.

During the 44-day conflict, Azerbaijan liberated several cities and 300 settlements and villages that were occupied by Armenia for almost 30 years.