Expert: France inappropriately calls events in Karabakh “ethnic cleansing”

The French government’s use of the term “ethnic cleansing” in relation to the Armenian population of Karabakh is untrue and doesn’t reflect the realities of what happened in this Azerbaijani region in September, historian and lecturer at ADA University Maxime Gauin said in an interview with French radio Kernews, Report informs.

He noted that Paris didn’t have reliable sources of information, and statements that Armenians had to leave the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan don’t stand up to criticism.

“There is no real, convincing evidence that the Armenians who left the separatist entity after its return to the control of Baku were threatened or forced to leave Karabakh. On the contrary, there were calls from the Azerbaijani government to stay before and after the anti-terrorism measures, which lasted less than 24 hours. All actions were directed against separatist forces. There was nothing that could have caused this exodus. I rely on the testimony of the Armenians,” the historian said.

Gauin also emphasized that there is a high probability that Azerbaijanis and Armenians will be able to live in an atmosphere of mutual respect and peace.

“More attention should be paid to 36,000 Armenians living in Baku and Ganja. I believe that it is necessary to create an Armenian community in Azerbaijan and appoint one or more representatives of this community to responsible positions in the liberated territories. This may encourage those who remained not to leave and encourage those who left to return. In addition, other measures have already been taken to encourage the return of ethnic Armenians, including assistance and tax breaks for farmers to become Azerbaijani citizens again. This information should be disseminated as widely as possible. The Armenian side needs additional efforts to put an end to hatred, which is very strong; Armenia itself at one time completely expelled ethnic Azerbaijanis,” he noted.

According to Gauin, Pashinyan lives in fear of being overthrown by extremists in his own country, most of whom are closely linked to the Kremlin. He wonders how to get to the point of signing peace without it costing him either his life or his power.

Regarding the relations between Baku and Paris, the historian noted that currently there is a huge communication problem between them, which requires a lot of effort to solve. “The French side must stop listening to extremist groups that represent only themselves and are in open conflict with the Armenian government.”

According to the historian, the crisis in relations between Baku and Paris arose due to the incorrect approach of the French government to the normalization of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, as well as to the situation in the South Caucasus region.

“France is trying to get Armenia out of its military dependence on Russia and Iran. Some statements by French diplomats should be reconsidered before pronouncing them. For example, during the visit of the French foreign minister to Armenia, it was stated that Paris supports Yerevan and will sell weapons. It would be much more correct if it said that France and Armenia stand for peace based on mutual respect for territorial integrity, as was done in Prague,” he said. “If it said, ‘We are ready to sell weapons to Armenia after the signing peace treaty so that you are no longer dependent on Russia,’ this would not shock anyone in Baku.”