The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict cannot be resolved by military force, France’s outgoing chief Karabakh negotiator said on Wednesday in a warning that seemed primarily addressed to Azerbaijan.
“This conflict cannot have a military solution. That’s impossible,” Bernard Fassier said during a farewell trip to Armenia.
“Although France fortunately managed to win back our territories that were under German occupation [during World War One,] it is now evident that the price which we paid for that victory was too high. We lost so many people,” Fassier told a news conference in Yerevan.
“I said this in Paris recently in order to demonstrate that even for Azerbaijan war would not be a reasonable solution,” he said. “I don’t know who can win a new war but for everyone, not just winners but also losers, it would a nightmare: new bloodshed, new hatred, new refugees.”
Azerbaijan regularly threatens to forcibly win back Karabakh and other Armenian-controlled territories surrounding the disputed enclave. The Armenian side condemns and at the same time dismisses these threats, saying that Baku would suffer another defeat in case of attempting a military solution to the dispute.
The Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also stands for a peaceful settlement. Fassier has served its French co-chair for the past seven years. He will be replaced by another French diplomat next month.
Fassier spoke to journalists after meeting with President Serzh Sarkisian and other Armenian officials.
“This conflict cannot have a military solution. That’s impossible,” Bernard Fassier said during a farewell trip to Armenia.
“Although France fortunately managed to win back our territories that were under German occupation [during World War One,] it is now evident that the price which we paid for that victory was too high. We lost so many people,” Fassier told a news conference in Yerevan.
“I said this in Paris recently in order to demonstrate that even for Azerbaijan war would not be a reasonable solution,” he said. “I don’t know who can win a new war but for everyone, not just winners but also losers, it would a nightmare: new bloodshed, new hatred, new refugees.”
Azerbaijan regularly threatens to forcibly win back Karabakh and other Armenian-controlled territories surrounding the disputed enclave. The Armenian side condemns and at the same time dismisses these threats, saying that Baku would suffer another defeat in case of attempting a military solution to the dispute.
The Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe also stands for a peaceful settlement. Fassier has served its French co-chair for the past seven years. He will be replaced by another French diplomat next month.
Fassier spoke to journalists after meeting with President Serzh Sarkisian and other Armenian officials.