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Newly-appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Jonathan Lacôte said his country will soon voice its stance on annulling Armenia-Turkey Protocols.

“France will express its position on the matter, when everything becomes clearer,” the top French official told reporters at a news conference on Monday.

Jonathan Lacôte also criticized the latest statements of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev calling for a “return to historical lands” in Armenia, namely to Yerevan and Zangezur.

“In general, any such statement, which contradicts the peace talks, are reprehensible,” he said.

According to Jonathan Lacôte, France has already issued an official statement clearly expressing its approach towards the issue.

To remind, President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan declared the Armenia-Turkey Protocols ‘null and void’ at a National Security Council session in the Presidential Palace on March 1.

The “Protocol on the Establishment of Diplomatic Relations” and “Protocol on the Development of Bilateral Relations” between Armenia and Turkey were signed in Zurich, Switzerland, on 10 October 2009, and were set to be signed by the parliaments of both countries “within a reasonable time frame”. However, Turkey extended the ratification deadline for a long time, regularly putting forward different preconditions.

President Sargsyan recalled the Protocols from the National Assembly on February 16 2015. Addressing the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on September 20, he promised to declare them ‘null and void’ until the spring of 2018.