Baku to summon French ambassador over Karabakh resolution backed by French lawmakers

Moscow [Russia], December 4 (ANI/Sputnik): The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Friday denounced the approval by the French lower house of the resolution on the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh and said it would summon the French ambassador in Baku to express its stance on the matter to Paris.
The French National Assembly, which is the lower parliamentary house, on Thursday voted in favor of the resolution, already adopted by the Senate -- the upper house -- in late November. With a 188-3 vote and 16 abstentions, the document advises that Paris recognize the autonomy of the breakaway republic of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"We would like to note that the French ambassador to Azerbaijan will be summoned to the Foreign Ministry in connection with the adoption of an unfounded and biased resolution by the National Assembly, and the strong protest of the Azerbaijani side will be brought to the attention of the other side," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry also called the French lower house's decision on resolution another "baseless, unfriendly and provocative activity of the French Parliament" in the "ongoing campaign against Azerbaijan."
Despite the adoption of the resolution by two chambers of the French Parliament, Paris is against such a measure, according to French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who stressed that Yerevan has not requested that France recognize the independence of the self-proclaimed republic.
The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict dates back to the final days of the Soviet Union. The hostilities once again erupted in late September and lasted for six weeks, during which several ceasefire agreements have been reached and broken. The latest ceasefire deal, brokered by Moscow, was signed by the opposing parties on November 10. France, along with Russia and the United States, cochairs the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe's Minsk Group, designed to mediate in the regional conflict. (ANI/Sputnik)