No:250/20, Information of the Press Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the meeting between Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Ambassador of the Republic of France

On September 15, 2020, Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov received Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to the Republic of Azerbaijan Zakari Gross.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov stressed the importance of relations between Azerbaijan and France, emphasizing the high level of cooperation between the two countries since the early years of Azerbaijan's independence. It was noted that the existing exchanges and contacts between the two countries in various fields, including high-level visits, have greatly contributed to the further expansion of our mutually beneficial relations.

Ambassador Zakari Gross conveyed the sincere congratulations of Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France Republic Jean-Yves Le Drian to Minister Jeyhun Bayramov. He noted that the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France invited his Azerbaijani counterpart to pay an official visit to Paris.

The sides exchanged views on cooperation between the two countries in political, economic, energy, trade, humanitarian and other fields. Noting the continuation of political consultations between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, the full use of existing economic potential, including the importance of the Intergovernmental Economic Commission, as well as successful cooperation in the field of education mentioning in this context the French-Azerbaijani University (UFAZ) as a bright example of this cooperation, the attention was drawn to the future expansion of the relations in this regard.

Minister Jeyhun Bayramov briefed the French Ambassador as the representative of one of the co-chair states of the OSCE Minsk Group, on the situation in the settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. It was noted that the process of negotiations on the settlement of the conflict has stalled due to the extremely provocative and irresponsible behavior of the Armenian side. The provocative actions of the Armenian leadership, which seeks to escalate tensions in the region, and also the fact that the Minsk Group co-chairs did not react to such provocative activities was noted with regret. During the meeting, it was stated that the balanced approach to the aggressor state Armenia and Azerbaijan, the territories of which have been under occupation for almost 30 years was wrong. It was also noted that the recent large-scale armament of Armenia is an indication of the country's interest in new provocations.

Ambassador Zakari Gross stressed that France is interested in ensuring peace and security in the region, and expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of progress in the talks on resolving the conflict.

The sides also exchanged views on other issues of mutual interest.