French Foreign Minister Responds to Hadrut Residents' Letter: Macron is Also Familiar with the Issue

The French Embassy in Armenia, under the signature of the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian, has responded to the letter from displaced Artsakh residents. Levon Hayryan, president of the public organization 'For Hadrut', stated this to 24News.

The letter was delivered to the French embassy on October 26, 2021. 'They have replied that they are closely monitoring the situation and share our concerns; they are doing everything possible in both economic and political directions. Most importantly, they stated that we should keep in touch with the embassy. The letter was addressed to Macron. This is a response to a letter signed by 240 families from Hadrut. We requested political asylum. They stated that they are 'working on political solutions regarding the Karabakh issue,' Hayryan noted.

Hayryan further mentioned that they were informed about the response letter from the French embassy on Friday: 'But we received the response today. Now, I want to go to our foreign ministry and tell them that Jean-Yves Le Drian is responding to our letter; why are you not responding?'

24News has obtained a photograph of the letter signed by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, indicating that the Hadrut residents' letter was forwarded to French President Emmanuel Macron and 'was given his utmost attention. The latter has instructed me to respond to you.'

The letter states that France 'continues to be convinced of the importance of resuming dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan to achieve a peaceful and lasting resolution of the conflict, which is necessary for the restoration of peace in your region.'

On January 27, representatives of displaced persons from Kashatagh, Shushi, and Hadrut had spoken with the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs about organizing a meeting as soon as possible. On that day, they conducted a march from the Shahumian area to the UN office in Armenia, after which they also submitted a letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while demanding a meeting with the leadership. During a conversation with reporters, Hayryan mentioned that their requests included the return of the Republic of Artsakh and the recognition of borders at least as of 1994, granting refugee status to the displaced persons, and in case of granting refugee status, building a separate village for the displaced in Armenia.

Hayryan stated that tomorrow at 12:00 PM, they will meet with Sergei Ghazaryan, the permanent representative of the Republic of Artsakh in Armenia, to discuss the social issues of displaced Artsakh residents.