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Azeri top diplomat blames France for not being neutral in Nagorno-Karabakh conflict

Speaking during a press conference on Saturday, Azerbaijani top diplomat Jeyhun Bayramov lashed out at the French administration for violating the principle of neutrality amid the mediation efforts to find a permanent solution to the decades-long dispute over the Erivan-occupied Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Agencies and A News WORLD
Published October 10,2020
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Azeri foreign minister Jeyhun Bayramov accused France on Saturday of not being neutral when it comes to mediating the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

He told a news conference that France had violated the principle of neutrality, while the Azeri side had not noticed any such violations by Russia.

Azerbaijan and Armenia agreed Saturday to a cease-fire that will begin Saturday.

Hostilities will be halted at midday (0800GMT) to allow an exchange of prisoners and the recovery of dead bodies in Nagorno-Karabakh.

A trilateral meeting Friday between Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia took place in Moscow with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Armenian Foreign Minister Zohrab Mnatsakanyan.

Fighting began Sept. 27, when Armenian forces targeted civilian Azerbaijani settlements and military positions in the region, leading to casualties.

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

Multiple UN resolutions, as well as international organizations, demand the withdrawal of the invading 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 to in 1994.

Many world powers, including Russia, France and the United States, have urged an immediate cease-fire.

Turkey, meanwhile, has supported Baku's right to self-defense and demanded the withdrawal of Armenia's occupying forces.