News - Macron: Sanctions against Azerbaijan at this stage will be counterproductive

Sanctions against Azerbaijan at this stage will be counterproductive, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. He condemned Azerbaijan for pursuing military action in Nagorno-Karabakh, insisting that the French government's position was right, even if Baku considered it biased in favor of Armenia. “France has no problems with Azerbaijan, but Azerbaijan seems to have problems with international law,” Macron said, adding that sanctions against Azerbaijan at this stage would be counterproductive. According to him, the time has not yet come for Europe to impose sanctions against Azerbaijan. "They would be counterproductive and would not allow to protect the Armenian territory and its residents in the best possible way," Macron justified his opinion. According to him, he "deeply regrets" that the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev missed the opportunity to participate in the negotiations and meet with the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan. Despite this, Macron assured that "Europe continues its efforts to bring Aliyev to the negotiating table", Macron was quoted by AFP.