Matthew Bryza: France, extremist Armenians are trying to force issue of legal status of Karabakh to be debated again

France and the separatist, extremist Armenians in Karabakh are trying to force the issue of the legal status of Karabakh to be debated again, Matthew Bryza, former US ambassador to Azerbaijan, and Board Member of the Jamestown Foundation, told Report.

According to him, since the end of the Second Karabak War and the very day the leaders of Azerbaijan, Russia, and Armenia signed the ceasefire statement, namely November 10, 2020, the French government’s official position has been to blame Azerbaijan for the war:

“France is trying to keep open the question of a change in legal status for the part of Karabakh controlled by Russian peacekeepers and where Armenian separatists reside. This is despite the fact that the ceasefire arrangement to which Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan agreed, explicitly doesn’t include the possibility of a change in the legal status of Karabakh. And this is despite Pashinyan saying ‘Armenia is ready to recognize Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity including all of Karabakh’. So the French government through these steps is trying to force open again the question of whether the legal status of Karabakh can be changed to something other than being a part of Azerbaijan namely either independent or part of Armenia.”

As for the fact that the Armenians have not yet accepted the aid sent by the Red Crescent Society of Azerbaijan to Khankandi, Bryza said:

“The reason for all this tension is most extreme members of the Karabakh ethnic Armenian community are putting political pressure on the government in Irevan with support from the most revanchist and nationalist Armenian diaspora groups for example Armenian National Committee of America to force the issue of legal status of Karabakh to be debated again. This is why the Armenian side refuses to accept humanitarian aid from Azerbaijan through the Aghdam-Khankandi road and insists on only accepting aid from Armenia through the Lachin road. This is an example of politicizing humanitarian aid which violates international humanitarian law. According to international humanitarian law, humanitarian assistance has to be delivered and accepted by whatever routes is possible.”