On June 28, French President Emmanuel Macron met with the influential Armenian circles in Marseille during his visit, Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARFD) said.

At the meeting, which French National Assembly member Sabrina Agresti-Roubache also attended, the latter addressed the French president, saying that in the conditions of the blockade of Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijan and the latter’s attack, a more effective and practical initiative, and not only a moral one, is expected from him.

"I put more pressure on Aliyev than Pashinyan himself. The issue is Pashinyan. I am the only one who has a clear position and message on the Karabakh issue," the French president said.

The participants reminded him that they were addressing Macron as citizens of France, noting that they knew that their friend Mourad Papazian had repeatedly addressed him about Nagorno Karabakh's plight and that the issue of Nagorno Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan was unacceptable to them.

"Do not doubt my determination regarding Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia as a whole. I will continue to make efforts, even if I am almost the only one in the international family with this agenda. You also know that France sent its military attache to its embassy in Armenia for the first time, and that means something, right? We have to do everything in our power, as much as possible," Macron concluded.

Azerbaijan responds

On June 29, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported that French President Emanuel Macron's views against Azerbaijan, which unilaterally defend Armenia and do not reflect the truth, are unacceptable.

"Macron, who was remembered for his repeated anti-Azerbaijani statements both in the 44-day Patriotic War and in the post-conflict period, could not achieve his goals in the war and post-war period. Allegations that the President of Azerbaijan, Mr. Ilham Aliyev, was pressured are a figment of French President Macron's imagination. Attempts to put pressure on the President of Azerbaijan have never been successful. In his activities, President Ilham Aliyev has always successfully defended the national interests of Azerbaijan based on the norms and principles of international law," the report added.

"President Macron's statement once again shows that he is a tool in the hands of the French Armenian lobby. It should be noted that the representative of the Armenian community, whom he tried to explain, is one of those radical persons against whom Armenia has imposed an entry ban. Against the background of Armenia's support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and the recognition of the Karabakh region as an integral part of Azerbaijan, such biased statements of President Macron hinder the establishment of peace and tranquility in the region and encourage the expansion of the destructive activities of those who promote and support separatism and terrorism," the information said.

On June 30, Anne Bouillon, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Azerbaijan, was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.