On November 15, the French Senate adopted a resolution calling on the country's government to impose sanctions against Azerbaijan if it does not withdraw its troops from the territory of Armenia.“We call on the government, together with its European allies, to consider options for the strongest and most appropriate response to new Azerbaijani attacks, including the confiscation of property of Azerbaijani leaders and the possibility of introducing a ban on the import of Azerbaijani gas and oil,” says the document, which was voted for by 295 senators with one vote against .
The Upper House of Parliament also asks the French government to create a humanitarian office in Nagorno-Karabakh and provide all possible assistance to Armenia, in particular in the defense sector.
On the same day, representatives of the Azerbaijani community in Europe held a protest against the “anti-Azerbaijani resolution” in front of the French Senate building. They called on parliamentarians to vote against the document. The action was held under the slogans “We want justice”, “France, be neutral!”, “Senate, be fair!”
The Senate resolution is advisory and not binding for the French government. The authors of the resolution - Bruno Retayo, Patrick Cannery, Hervé Marsey, Eliane Asasi - in 2020, after the 44-day war, developed a resolution recognizing the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. It was also adopted by an overwhelming majority of votes, but did not pass through the government.
On November 16, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry responded to the adoption of the resolution, saying that it demonstrates a biased and one-sided position, and its authors are not aware of the current situation in the region. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry “stresses with regret that the resolution of the upper house of the French parliament once again ignores the almost 30-year occupation of the territories of Azerbaijan by Armenia” and recalls “that the Karabakh region, as an internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan, is its integral part, and the rights and security of the Armenian population living in this region are an internal matter of Azerbaijan and will be ensured in accordance with the Constitution of the republic.”
“We resolutely reject another resolution adopted by the French Senate,” Baku emphasized.