September 28, 2022 - 15:24 AMT
Macron defends Armenia’s territorial integrity in call with Aliyev

French President Emmanuel Macron spoke to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on Tuesday, September 27 and reminded him about the need to respect the territorial integrity of Armenia.

Phone talks with Aliyev came on the heels of Macron’s meeting with Pashinyan, during which the French President said he had earlier told his Azerbaijani counterpart that the absence of demarcated borders could not justify any advance into the territory of another country.

According to a statement from the Élysée Palace, Macron repeated his earlier call for respecting the ceasefire and keeping forces in their initial positions.

After meeting with Pashinyan on Monday, Macron said it was necessary to resume dialogue and maintained that unresolved issues, “which are numerous”, should be resolved exclusively through negotiations.

The latest round of fighting between the two countries began in the wee hours of September 13, when the Azerbaijani military attacked Armenian posts and shelled Armenian settlements both on the border and deep behind the frontline. At least 207 people are dead or missing as a result, the Security Council of Armenia said on Monday.