France supports joint call by Armenia and Azerbaijan to begin dissolving OSCE Minsk Group

YEREVAN, August 9. /ARKA/. The French Foreign Ministry said in a statement that France welcomes the statement by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on the agreement to normalize relations, made in Washington under the auspices of US President Donald Trump.

"The results achieved with the participation of the United States mark a decisive step forward. The early signing and ratification of the peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will complete this process. In this context, France supports the parties' joint call to begin dissolving the OSCE Minsk Group structures," Public Television of Armenia quoted the French Foreign Ministry as saying.

France, along with Russia and the United States, is one of the three co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The French Foreign Ministry's statement also notes that normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, developing regional communications, and opening borders while maintaining territorial integrity and sovereignty, as well as the principles enshrined in the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration, should allow the South Caucasus to become a zone of peace and prosperity for the benefit of the region's peoples.

"Together with its European partners, France will continue to actively contribute to the achievement of this goal, in particular within the framework of the European Political Community," the statement says.

Following the trilateral meeting held in Washington on August 8 between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, a declaration was signed. -0-