French President Emmanuel Macron believes imposing sanctions against Azerbaijan given the current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh would not be productive now.

"Now is not the time for sanctions. They would be ineffective and prevent the best protection of the territory of Armenia and its population. Now is the time for demands, clarity, commitments, in particular, the option chosen by France, military support. But this is not the time for sanctions, because we must continue the dialogue with Azerbaijan," Macron said while summarizing the results of the third   European Political Community summit in Granada.

Macron said France is doing everything to support Armenia, including the people of Nagorno Karabakh.

"The main issue now is the families from Karabakh and the border issue," Macron said, adding "it is necessary to support the Armenian authorities in order to avoid any destabilization in the region."

Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Council President Charles Michel met yesterday in Granada, Spain on the sidelines of the third meeting of the European Political Community.

They issued a joint statement following the meeting in which the European leaders underlined their unwavering support of the independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of Armenia.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev backed out of the meeting at the last minute, citing what he claimed were “pro-Armenian” statements made by French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna during her recent trip to Yerevan. Aliyev also cited the fact that Turkey wasn’t allowed to attend the meeting.

Photo: Thomas Coex/AFP