Your trusted source

France on Tuesday said it had recalled for consultations the French ambassador to Azerbaijan, accusing Baku of taking actions that have damaged the bilateral relationship, AFP reported.

President Emmanuel Macron received ambassador Anne Boillon in Paris to discuss the issue, the foreign ministry said in a statement, accusing Azerbaijan of continuing "in recent months unilateral actions damaging to the relationship between our two countries".

Relations between Azerbaijan and France -- a traditional ally of Armenia and host itself to a significant Armenian diaspora community -- have long been plagued by tensions focused on Nagorno-Karabakh seized by Azerbaijani forces in the lightning September 2023 offensive.

Macron and other French officials have long voiced concern Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will not stop there and has designs on Armenian territory.

In his meeting with Boillon, the French president said he "regretted Azerbaijan's actions and expressed a wish for clarification by the Azerbaijani side of its intentions", the foreign ministry said.

"France reiterates its support for the normalisation of relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, while respecting international law and the territorial integrity of the two countries," the ministry added.