The Western Azerbaijan Community strongly condemns the call of the Chairman of the French Senate, Gerard Larcher, to arm Armenia
18 July 2023, 18:54

The Western Azerbaijan Community strongly condemns the recent call made by Gerard Larcher, the Speaker of the French Senate, urging the French Government to supply additional weapons to Armenia. Such a move would be highly detrimental and counterproductive, given the proven record of violation of international law by Armenia. We believe that providing further support to Armenia's massive armament program would only escalate tensions and hinder the prospects of peace and stability in the region.

Armenia has a history of acting aggressively against its neighbor Azerbaijan and committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, when it perceives military superiority. It is important to highlight that Armenia ethnically cleansed all Azerbaijanis from its territory, launched unprovoked attacks on Azerbaijan, and illegally occupied a large part of Azerbaijani territory. This occupation led to the expulsion of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from their homes and the destruction of almost all Azerbaijani settlements and cultural heritage under Armenia’s occupation. Over 20,000 Azerbaijanis, most of them being civilians, were killed by Armenia’s military. The fate of nearly 4,000 missing Azerbaijani individuals remains uncertain. Armenia refused to liberate occupied Azerbaijani lands until it was defeated in 2020 in the wake of another large-scale invasion it had started against Azerbaijan.

Armenia continues to defy international norms by refusing to withdraw the remainder of its troops from the territories of Azerbaijan, where a Russian peacekeeping force is temporarily deployed. Armenia also maintains military occupation over eight Azerbaijani villages in the border area, further undermining the peace process and violating Azerbaijan's territorial integrity.

The intentions of Armenia are deeply troubling. Providing additional weapons to Armenia would only empower and enable their aggressive ambitions, jeopardizing the stability of the entire region.

We must also emphasize that the weapons being supplied to Armenia by France under existing contracts have already had a destabilizing effect in the region and have complicated the ongoing peace process. Further armament would be highly irresponsible on the part of France and would exacerbate the challenges faced by our Community in exercising our right to return to our ancestral lands. A more militarized Armenia would be less willing to respect our human rights to return to our homes in safety and with dignity.

Therefore, we urge the French Government to immediately revoke any export licenses for the existing defense contracts, refrain from authorizing further export of weapons to Armenia. As the permanent member of the UN Security Council, France has a responsibility to promote international peace and security by ensuring that Armenia adheres to international law, respects Azerbaijan's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and enables our right to return in safety and with dignity. Supplying massive amounts armament to aggressive and warmongering Armenia is not in line with the international responsibility that France has.

Instead, France should actively support and advocate our safe and dignified return, and take measures to ensure that Armenia promptly and effectively responds to our calls for constructive dialogue on that issue.