France’s National Assembly approved a resolution Thursday calling on the government to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as a “republic.”
RESOLUTION WAS ADOPTED WITH 188 YES VOTES
After passing last month in the Senate, the resolution, which has symbolic value, was adopted in the Assembly with 188 “yes” votes against three “no” votes, while 16 deputies abstained from voting.
With the decision, the French government was called on to recognize the “Nagorno-Karabakh Republic” and to re-evaluate Turkey’s membership process to the EU with its European partners due to Turkey’s role in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. According to the UN, Nagorno-Karabakh is Azerbaijani territory.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian rejected the recognition call, saying Armenia did not require it. He also stressed that if such a decision is taken, France will remove itself from the OSCE Minsk Group and give up its mediator role.