On 25 November, France’s upper house of parliament, the Senate, called on the French government to recognize Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state. In addition, the resolution defined the war as Azerbaijan’s aggression with the support from Turkey and called on the French government to condemn it, as well as to influence the immediate withdrawal of Azerbaijani troops from the territories of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The resolution also calls for an investigation into the war crimes committed in Nagorno-Karabakh, including attacks against civilians and the use of prohibited weapons and to impose sanctions against Turkey. It further emphasised that France should actively work within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group to ensure the security of the Armenian population and the right to return of displaced citizens, providing large-scale humanitarian aid, as well as contributing to the preservation of the Armenian cultural and religious heritage. 

It was passed by 305 votes to 1 despite being opposed by the French government. The French Secretary of State at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne said that this resolution will not do any good for anyone. “Unilateral recognition will do no good for anyone and will not serve to boost mediation efforts,” he said, recalling that France, a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, backs implementation of the ceasefire agreement reached on 9 November, he stated. 

The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the resolution. “The resolution adopted by the French Senate is a crucial step towards the recognition of the right to self-determination exercised by the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. With this decision the French people and the Senate representing them once again demonstrated their unwavering commitment to the universal civilizational values of human rights,”  the statement said.  “We consider specifically important that the violations of international law and the norms of human rights as well as Turkey’s expansionist policy have been clearly acknowledged in the decision,” the statement further read.   

The leader of the Armenian parliamentary opposition party Bright Armenia Edmon Marukyan said that the resolution was “very good”, but had some reserved comments on the content of the resolution. “I have many questions. For example, within what borders will Nagorno-Karabakh be recognised? After all, Karabakh existed within the borders, according to its Constitution, which included all those territories that are being handed back to Azerbaijan now under the trilateral statement on ending the war,” he said. Marukyan also commented on the issue why Armenia did not recognised Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state in 2016.  “We were told off-record that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries were against recognition. Then other initiatives were discussed, and again the same answer was received. Then the April war began, and we again discussed this proposal and again we were told by the Armenian government and the foreign ministry that the co-chairing countries were against,” he said. 

Meanwhile, the resolution was negatively perceived in Azerbaijan. The Assistant to Azerbaijan’s president Hikmet Hajiyev said that this resolution was nothing more than a piece of paper. “This piece of paper, adopted in the name of narrow political ambitions, along with a gross violation of international law, the UN Charter and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, raises serious questions related to the activities of France as a co-chairing country of the Minsk Group and a permanent member of the UN Security Council,” he said. 

Hajiyev emphasised that the resolution was a provocative step by the Senate and a manifestation of the traditional pro-Armenian position of the French political circles. “The open pro-Armenian position of France, which has forgotten that a mediating country must be impartial and fair, has become one of the main factors hindering the peaceful resolution of the conflict. It is this support that prompted aggressive Armenia to continue the status quo and strengthen the fact of occupation,” he added. 

Hajiyev also addressed the issue of foreign fighters within the resolution. “The claims against Turkey and Azerbaijan, which have not yet been confirmed by any evidence, for allegedly involving hired terrorists from abroad in hostilities are unfounded. At the same time, our relevant structures brought to the attention of France the facts and evidence of the participation of mercenaries who are French citizens in the battles on the territory of Azerbaijan in the ranks of the Armenian armed forces,” he said.

“We [Azerbaijan] see the resolution as a clear example of growing Islamophobia in France. The discrimination and persecution in France against the Islamic religion and Muslims under the auspices of secularism and freedom of the press remind us of the anti-Semitism that once reigned in this country and continues to this day. If the French Senate were so ‘worried’ about justice and international law, it would be more logical to consider the issue of Mayotte Island [Comoros], which is one of the latest examples of colonisation, in accordance with the resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the decisions of the Non-Aligned Movement. We regard the adoption of this resolution as an extremely shameful step for French politics and parliamentarism. The French government should express an official position on the inadmissibility of such provocative steps and, condemning the resolution, express support for the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan,"  Hajiyev concluded,

The Azerbaijani Parliament called on the Azerbaijani government to appeal to the OSCE leadership to recall France from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship. An appeal was made to reconsider the existing political relations between Azerbaijan and France. At the same time, the parliament called on the government to thoroughly analyse the economic ties with France by taking the appropriate measures. The parliament emphasised that the resolution was inconsistent with the commitments made by the French Republic in the framework of the European Union's global strategy for foreign and security policy. This includes the documents adopted by the Council of the European Union on the territorial integrity of states since 2016. The parliament said that it has the potential to deal a crushing blow to the European Union and its Eastern Partnership program.

The Speaker of Azerbaijan’s Parliament Sahia Gafarova described the resolution as an “ugly political action against Azerbaijan.” “These are the grandchildren of those who carried out the massacre in Algeria, drowning black-skinned people in the sea. At the same time, it reveals the face of European democracy. Even 107 years ago, Ahmed bey Agaoglu wrote that the European democracy, for which we are fighting, was changed by the Balkan events. The decision of the French Senate is a slap in the face of European democracy. France comes with anger from the fact that Turkey and Russia have removed it, settled the conflict. We managed to defeat Armenia, Turkey supported us in this matter, we have a wise leadership, a strong army. Therefore, such decisions cannot break our spirit,” said the Vice Speaker of Azerbaijan’s parliament Fazail Ibrahimli. It was also reported that a protest rally headed by the representatives of the Azerbaijani non-governmental organisations took place in front of the Embassy of France. Participants raised posters prepared in English and French with mottos such as “Karabakh is Azerbaijan'”, “France, be fair”, “Respect international law”, “France, get away from the OSCE”. 

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the resolution was a gross violation of the principles of international law. “We completely refuse the baseless allegations mentioned in the resolution regarding Turkey. This decision of the French Senate is a clear example of why the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, which… [need] to be neutral, [have not found] a solution to the issue so far, and how they are taking sides,” the MFA stated. “The Senates’ resolution once again demonstrates that France is part of the problem, not a solution to the Karabakh issue,” said Turkey’s Defence Minister Hulusi Akar.

A similar view was shared by the Chairman of the Russian State Duma's Committee on CIS and Eurasian Integration Leonid Kalashnikov. “I did not expect anything different from the offense of France and the United States for [Russia’s role in ending] the war and [bringing] the parties to a normal solution. Seeing that things are moving towards peace Paris has renewed its attempts to disrupt the process and create any tension. It is completely unconstructive. The move is aimed at undermining Russia's efforts in the region. In reality, this does not affect Russia's position, but the consequences will already be. The decision of the French Senate will please the radicals who accuse the Russian Federation of bringing peace to the South Caucasus,” he said. 

The Chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian Duma Konstantin Kosachev said that the resolution has only an advisory effect on the French government, noting that it only serves as a demonstration. According to him, the resolution of the French Senate was largely dictated by differences of opinion between Paris and Ankara. “Adoption of the mentioned initiative as a recommendation to the government will remain as a recommendation. Maybe it is better - as a result, the situation around Nagorno-Karabakh should remain, first of all, the subject of bilateral Azerbaijani-Armenian political dialogue. Without ultimatums and without power scenarios,” he said.