YEREVAN. JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. France calls on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume the political processes which must be fair and should not take place under force or other influence, French Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lacote said during a press conference dedicated to the completion of archaeological excavations in Erebuni.

“At this moment, when we hold this event, armed operations are taking place in the territory of Armenia, in Gegharkunik province. Of course, our minds are with those killed and their families. We also understand that this is taking place in the context when there is an escalation of the situation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. These developments cause the concern of France, because it is also a violation of the ceasefire, because of that the security situation on Armenia’s borders worsens. In this context France calls for resuming the political processes between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but that process must be fair and must not take place under force or other influence. Of course, there are contacts between France, US and Russia within the frames of the OSCE Minsk Group, in order to have our contribution to the normalization of the situation”, he said.

The Ambassador stated that the main concern of France is Armenia’s border situation.

“Of course, it is in our mind, and we do not forget about the other points of the November 9 trilateral statement as there are still problems with their implementation, particularly the point relating to the release of all prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan”, he said.

On July 28, at around 03:40, the Azerbaijani armed forces launched a provocation and violated the ceasefire in the northern-eastern section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. Three Armenian servicemen have been killed, two others have been wounded in action. The Azerbaijani attacking forces have been repelled to their initial positions, suffering losses. The sides have reached an agreement on ceasefire at the mediation of the Russian side.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan