French journalist: "Macron raised issue of mythical genocide to distract attention from numerous problems"

Baku. 11 February. REPORT.AZ/ "French President is trying to distract public attention from the problems existing in the country by bringing the issue of Armenian genocide to the agenda."

French journalist Nur Dolan said in a statement to Report's Western European bureau that France is facing numerous problems today.

She noted that Emmanuel Macron raised the issue of commemorating 'Armenian genocide' on the national level on April 24 to distract public attention from numerous problems in the country including the Yellow vests movement, because it is the issue that can be easily solved against the backdrop of serious problems existing in France. The journalist noted that the events which occurred a hundred years ago are brought to the agenda, while nothing is said about the state of the people who were turned into refugees as a result of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: "The problem of people displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh remains unresolved and they still live with the dream to return to their lands. Azerbaijani lands are still under occupation but no one in France speaks about it. I believe that Turks must develop their lobbyism like Armenians do, they must put pressure and hold regular discussions with politicians. Ahead of the next presidential election it is necessary to meet the candidates and inform them that Turks constitute a majority in France and that Turks won't vote for those candidates if they support Armenia. It is necessary to inform the candidates about the fate of nearly a billion of refugees expelled from Nagorno Karabakh. Turks constitute a majority in France, but they must be more active during the election campaigns.

The journalist said that she had the opportunity to meet Azerbaijan's National Leader Heydar Aliyev during his visit to France: "I worked with the information agency in the years when the USSR collapsed. Heydar Aliyev visited Paris and I went to meet him. People in France did not know much about this region. During our conversation he expressed the surprise at the extent Armenians in France influence the state policy. Armenian lobby is really strong. They especially could find their place in the French media space, either on TV, or through newspapers they could keep the information sources under their control by occupying a place in the French press."