O n November 25, French Senate adopted a resolution on “the necessity to recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh” with 305 MPs voting for and 1 against. The reolution was authored by 5 political group members (Republicans, Socialists, Centrists, Communists and Greens) Senators Bruno Retailleau, Patrick Kanner, Hervé Marseille, Éliane Assassi, Guillaume Gontard.

The resolution text refers to international organizations, including to the conclusion of the UN Commission on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, as well as the Armenian massacres in Sumgait and Kirovabad in 1988, in Baku, in 1990 and in Maragha, in 1992. The resolution calls on taking into account the fact that:

• In recent years, President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan doubled provocations, intimidation and threats against France, Europe and other countries.
• The expansionist policy led by Turkey is a major factor of destabilization in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and currently in the South Caucasus.
• The basis of the aggression against the people of the Nagorno-Karabakh, launched on September 27, 2020 is the military assistance to Azerbaijan by Turkey as well as through mercenaries from jihadist groups. 

Moreover, this resolution condemns the military aggression of Azerbaijan through the support of Turkish authorities and foreign mercenaries and calls for:

• Withdrawing immediately the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and their supporters from the territories, which have been taken as a result of hostilities since September 27.
• Providing mass humanitarian assistance to the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.
• Demanding on international investigation into war crimes committed against civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh, using weapons prohibited by international law. 

Before putting the resolution to a vote, in their speeches the senators spoke about the need for recognition of independence of Nagorno-Karabakh, considering it one of the main guarantees of peace. Turkey’s factor was especially emphasized. Senator Bruno Retailleau called it a result of Erdogan’s nationalist policy, which is a threat to the world peace. Eliane Assassi noted that the region became the victim of “Erdogan’s dictatorial drift”. Senator Christian Cambon called the resolution as “an additional lock to ensure this peace", humanitarian aid having been too late. The senators stressed that such a thing shouldn’t be allowed at the doors of Europe, by calling for an international investigation. Valérie Boyer, who was active in the recognition of Artsakh during the war, also made a speech. She notes that they were neutral when Turkey sent mercenaries and carried out joint ethnic cleansing with Azerbaijan, but now to remain neutral will mean leaving Armenia, by helping the Turkish-Azerbaijani dictatorship. It was also emphasized the importance to return to the borders before September 27, 2020, so as not to ensure that a situation of force wins.

The speech of Senator Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne should be singled out, who first stressed that we must act on emergency aid for the population, protection of cultural heritage, adding that the recognition is a serious issue, the consequences of which should be analyzed. He stressed, “no state has recognized it, not even Armenia” and the government’s responsibility would therefore be to wonder if this gesture would be useful and effective on the ground, and would have positive consequences for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. We should remember that efficiency is important and the responsibility of France through the Minsk Group is to remain neutral if it wants to continue to weigh. Unilateral recognition by France would not be to anyone’s advantage today.

The words of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, who is the Secretary of State at the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs were interpreted in the local and Russian press as the opinion of the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs. Meanwhile, the Ministry hasn’t yet commented on the resolution.

Referring to the importance of the resolution in the international arena, the Prime Minister of Armenia called it historic. The Foreign Ministries of Armenia and Artsakh also reacted by thanking France. The RA MFA emphasized the importance of the fact, that the decision found a clear record of the violations of international law and human rights norms by the Azerbaijani armed forces, as well as Turkey's expansionist policy. Artsakh’s Foreign Ministry expressed its hope that the decision of the Senate “will inspire the adoption of resolutions of the same nature and same power, first in the French National Assembly, as well as in other countries of the world”. 

The adoption of the resolution was harshly criticized by Azerbaijan and Turkey. Hajiyev, assistant to the Azerbaijani President, called the resolution a “piece of paper” adopted in the name of narrow political ambitions, which along with the gross violation of international law, the UN Charter and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, causes serious questions about France’s objective activity as co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. The Azerbaijani parliament suggested the OSCE to recall France from the Minsk Group co-chairs. Turkish Foreign Ministry commented on the resolution this way: “The decision of the French Senate, adopted yesterday on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, is an example of how the most basic principles of international law, legitimacy and justice are ignored for domestic political reasons. We deny the baseless allegations against Turkey in the decision".

The resolution however has an advisory nature. The executive body can consider it, but is not obliged to implement it. The decision made by the French Parliament, which is a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, can be perceived as a biased attitude towards Armenia.