YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)–The Azeri Turan information agency published news on April 21 claiming that French president Jacques Chirac–in his reply letter to Azeri President Heydar Aliyev–unconditionally supported Azerbaijan’s position of rejecting the OSCE Minsk Group proposals. Also–according to Turan–Jacques Chirac fully supports the principles of the Karabakh settlement adopted at the OSCE Lisbon Summit.
To clarify the situation–Karabakh Foreign Minister Naira Melkoumian held a telephone conversation with the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairman–French representative George Vogier. The diplomat reported that the information does not correspond to the facts and that Azerbaijan’s rejection of the international mediators’ latest proposals was registered by the French side of the Minsk Group co-chairmanship. Vogier stressed that France has its own position on the Karabakh problem which could not undergo such radical changes so quickly.
The French diplomat informed the Karabakh foreign minister that he was aware of the official statement of the Karabakh Foreign Ministry and shared the concern of the Karabakh side over the anti-Armenian campaign conducted in Azerbaijan.