Foreign policy & security

French minister: resolving Armenian prisoners issue is a precondition

Nicolas Forissier, France's Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade and Investment Attractiveness, stated that resolving the issue of prisoners is a precondition in the process of normalizing relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The statement came in response to a question from Senator Marie-Arlette Carlotti about Armenians held in Azerbaijan and displaced residents of Artsakh. Carlotti noted that a Baku military court sentenced 15 Armenians in February, and that Ruben Vardanyan was sentenced to 20 years in prison.