French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has stressed the great responsibility of the OSCE Minsk Group countries in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. The Minister stated this in an interview with the French LSI TV channel.
"France, Russia and the United States have a special responsibility, as they have been instructed by the United Nations to monitor the implementation of the responsibilities of the parties to the conflict. As co-chairs of the Minsk Group, we have made great efforts to reach a ceasefire. There have been three initiatives in a week, by me, my Russian and American counterparts, to call for an end to hostilities, but they have not worked at that time", Le Drian said. "The international community has laid responsibility on us. And Armenia itself wants us to maintain that responsibility. All this requires us to adhere to a balanced position", he added.
"However, it must be acknowledged that there is uncertainty over the ceasefire, and we want the necessary clarifications in this regard. They refer to the displaced people, as many Armenians have lived in Nagorno Karabakh, and we are trying to get the Armenians who left their place of residence back there", the diplomat said, adding:
"There is also uncertainty about the issue of mercenaries. It is necessary to achieve their withdrawal, with which all the Minsk Group co-chairing countries agree. There is also an issue related to the preservation of religious and cultural heritage. In this regard, the President of France Emmanuel Macron has launched initiatives in cooperation with UNESCO, which I discussed with my Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts on Saturday".
