The French Senate, on January 17, adopted a resolution calling on the French government to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan over its September 2023 military offensive that resulted in Baku regaining control of Nagorno Karabakh.

Proposed sanctions include the seizure of assets of Azerbaijani leaders and an embargo on Azerbaijani gas and oil exports to France.

By a vote of 336-1, the resolution supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia and calls for preventing further attempts at aggression and violations of the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia.

The resolution affirms Armenia’s right to defend its territorial integrity, including by military means, and welcomes the French government’s decision to deliver military equipment to Armenia.

The resolution condemns the “arbitrary” arrest of political leaders of the former Nagorno Karabakh Republic and calls for their immediate release.

The resolution also calls on Baku to protect Armenian cultural and religious sites in Karabakh and stresses the need for a UNESCO mission to visit Karabakh.

The resolution calls on the French government to take all necessary steps to ensure that Baku engages in negotiations with Armenia to achieve lasting peace in the South Caucasus.

In response, the Azerbaijani Parliament’s Committee on International Relations and Interparliamentary Ties adopted a statement calling on Baku to impose sanctions on France.

The statement calls for the freezing of assets of French officials in Azerbaijan, to halt all economic ties with France, to remove all French companies from Azerbaijan, and to bar the participation of French companies in any projects initiated by Azerbaijan.

In November 2022, the French Senate adopted a similar resolution that called on the French government to impose sanctions on Azerbaijan for its attacks against Armenia and aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh. The resolution also condemned Azerbaijan for its attack on Armenian sovereign territory in September.

The 2022 resolution reaffirmed the Senate’s 2020 resolution calling on the French government to recognize the sovereignty of Nagorno Karabakh

France never recognized the independence of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) nor has it imposed sanctions on Azerbaijan.

While French President Emmanuel Macron condemned Azerbaijan’s September 2023 military takeover of Karabakh, he argued that sanctions against Baku would be counterproductive.

He urged European leaders to discuss the crisis with Azerbaijan to “best protect” Armenia, rather than resorting quickly to economic measures.

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