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Paris calls on Karabakh conflict parties to establish an atmosphere of trust, stated the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, answering the question of Nouvelles d'Arménie on the murder of Armenian soldiers by the Azerbaijani sniper, militarization of Azerbaijan and threats against Armenia voiced by the President of Azerbaijan.

"France as OSCE Minsk Group co-chair is involved in the negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh conflict. We urge the parties to refrain from controversial statements and create an atmosphere of trust," reads the statement.

The French Foreign Ministry also noted that during his visit to the South Caucasus on 11-13 May, the French President Francois Hollande had discussed with the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sargsyan and Ilham Aliyev, the ways of achieving progress in the peace talks.

In its turn, the French ambassador to Azerbaijan Pascal Monnier stated in an interview with the Azerbaijani news portal "Haqqin.az" that the new meeting date between the presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia is still uncertain.

"However, we have proposed Ilham Aliyev and Serzh Sargsyan to meet in Paris. We find it useful for the peace development process, and this proposal has already been submitted to the presidents. As you know, this initiative has found support by the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office of Switzerland," he said.

Commenting on the recent visit of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Yerevan, Monier noted that after that visit, the Russian president had phoned Ilham Aliyev. "It seems that Russia has a new concept for the Karabakh conflict settlement," he said.

Asked about Azerbaijan’s skeptical views about the future of the OSCE Minsk Group, the Ambassador of France noted that it was the Minsk Group who for 20 years has been the main guarantor of reconciliation between the parties. He stressed the importance of its mission in the process of peaceful settlement of the conflict. According to Monier, the task of the intermediaries is in facilitating the speedy settlement of the conflict. "However, everything is within the hands of all parties of the conflict," he said.