French Senate Calls for Sanctions Against Azerbaijan Expresses Support to Armenia and Karabakh

PARIS — France’s Senate on Tuesday voted 295 to 1 to adopt a resolution calling on the French government to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan for its attacks against Armenia and aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh.

The resolution also condemns Azerbaijan for its attack on Armenia’s sovereign territory in September, calling on Baku to withdraw its troops from Armenia, and reaffirms France’s earlier recognition of Nagorno-Karabakh. It calls for guarantees that the status of the Lachin corridor, which links the region with Armenia, will remain unchanged.

The resolution calls for respect by the Azerbaijani authorities and all their partners in the region, in particular Turkey, for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Armenia in accordance with their international obligations and commitments.

“We call on the government to consider, together with European allies, the means of giving the strongest and most adequate response to the new Azerbaijani attacks, including confiscation of the property of Azerbaijani leaders and the possibility of placing a ban on the import of Azerbaijani gas and oil,” the document reads.

The French Senate also asks the French government to consider the issue of setting up a humanitarian office in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as “to show Paris’ support to Yerevan by all means”, considering “the strengthening of Armenia’s defense capabilities.”

Olivier Becht, France’s Foreign Trade Minister who was representing the country’s foreign minister at the Senate debate, did not raise objections to the adoption of the resolution. But he also did not clarify whether the government would take the way of imposing sanctions. “No country in the world does more to support Armenia,” he said.

Nagorno-Karabakh authorities swiftly welcomed the resolution in France. Also, a group of Karabakh Armenians organized a rally in front of the French embassy in Yerevan on Tuesday afternoon in support of the French Senate’s move.