France’s Macron condemns Turkey for backing Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenian soldiers in the self-proclaimed Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, Azerbaijan

Credit: Armenian Defence Ministry

The French president accused Turkey of unacceptable "warlike" rhetoric encouraging Azerbaijan to reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh, as fighting with ethnic Armenian forces in the breakaway territory entered its fourth day on Wednesday.

France “remains extremely concerned about the warlike messages from Turkey in the past few hours, which amount to giving Azerbaijan the go-ahead for what would be a reconquest of Nagorno-Karabakh,” Emmanuel Macron told a news conference in Latvia.

However, he said he had no proof of any direct Turkish involvement.

“At this stage, we have no evidence that would allow us to talk about a regionalisation of the conflict,” he said.

But he described Turkey’s statements in favour of Azerbaijan as “inconsiderate and dangerous.”   

Mr Macron said he would discuss the issue in telephone calls with Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, on Wednesday evening and with Donald Trump on Thursday.

France, Russia and the United States co-chair the Minsk Group of 13 countries, which aims to broker a peaceful negotiated solution to the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh.  

Armenian and Azerbaijani forces clash

Mevlut Cavusoglu, Turkey’s foreign minister, said France’s position amounted to supporting Armenia’s “occupation” of part of Azerbaijan’s territory.  

France is already at loggerheads with Turkey over the Libyan civil war, and Turkish oil and gas exploration in the Mediterranean.  

Armenia repeated accusations of Turkish involvement in the flare-up on Wednesday, sharing pictures showing the wreckage of what it said was an SU-25 warplane shot down by a Turkish jet on Tuesday.   

Ankara and Azerbaijan denied that a Turkish F-16 had downed an Armenian plane.    

Nearly 100 people have died in the latest bout of fighting so far, most of whom are ethnic Armenian separatists, officials say, but also 17 civilians on both sides, including women and children.  

The current clashes in the breakaway territory are some of the worst in the long-running conflict since a 1994 ceasefire.

The enclave is populated mostly by ethnic Armenians who in 1994 declared independence from Azerbaijan, which still claims it. 

Both sides are resisting international calls for a ceasefire.  

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said Wednesday that peace talks with Azerbaijan under Russian mediation would be inappropriate.  

"It isn’t very appropriate to speak of a summit between Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia at a time of intensive hostilities," Mr Pashinyan told Russia’s Interfax news agency.