BAKU. June 2 (Interfax) - The statement made by French President Emmanuel Macron after the five-sided meeting in Chisinau on June 1, which addressed the normalization of Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, does not contribute positively to the peace process, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said on Friday.
As the organizer of the Brussels format, European Council President Charles Michel as per tradition issued a press release after the meeting between Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Chisinau, which was also attended by Michel, Macron, and German Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Hajizada said.
"The unilateral statement on the meeting which was later made by the French president does not reflect, and even distorts, the parties' positions. Regretfully, this is not the first French action of this kind, which does not make a positive contribution to the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace process or to peace and stability in the region," he said.
Macron's statement, published on the Elysee Palace's website, said that the European leaders urged Armenia and Azerbaijan to honor their obligations, including for the soonest possible release of prisoners of war. They also underlined the importance of defining the rights and guarantees of Armenians residing in Karabakh.
Macron stressed the importance of ending all hostile rhetoric and continuing with efforts to restore peace for the benefit of the region's entire population.