Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you very much, Excellency, for being with us today.
I cannot overemphasize the importance of the question that Ms. Bendayan just asked and the answer you gave. Indeed, I was very surprised last week that some members of this committee appeared to consider all the testimony we received to be equally credible. As a result, we need neutral and indisputable information to overcome the Manichaean dynamic in which one person is right and the other is wrong, and vice versa, with arguments coming from people with vested interests. So, thank you very much for your answer to Ms. Bendayan’s excellent question for you.
As you know, at the very end of August, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan met in Brussels, under the mediation of Mr. Charles Michel, President of the European Council. A few days later, Azerbaijan led a large-scale offensive against Armenia which lasted only three days, but it effectively allowed Azerbaijan to occupy Armenian sovereign territory.
Subsequently, there was another meeting in October between the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan. The French President, Emmanuel Macron, as well as Mr. Michel, were present. There was even a meeting at the end of October between the Prime Minister and the President, with the President of Russia in attendance.
During these two meetings in October, was the Azeri offensive discussed? Were any explanations given as to why this offensive was carried out, even though peace talks had started in August?