French portal publishes article about Shusha occupation

Paris, May 8, AZERTAC The French Islamnews.fr portal has published an article of the President of the Association of Friends of Azerbaijan in France Jean-Francois Mancel about occupation of the Azerbaijani city of Shusha by the Armenian military units 26 years ago. The article says that although May 8, 1945, is marked as a victory over Fascism, Azerbaijanis remember this date as the day when the city of Shusha was occupied by the Armenian military units in 1992. Mancel described Shusha as the cradle of Azerbaijani music and heartbeat of the national culture. The article notes that the Armenian armed units destroyed the historical and cultural monuments of Shusha. Mancel also highlights the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, occupation of 20 per cent of Azerbaijani lands, more than one million Azerbaijanis who became refugees and IDPs, and four resolutions of the UN Security Council. “France as a co-chair of the OSCE Mınsk group should renew the peace initiative based on liberation of the occupied lands and recognition of the refugees` rights within the global truce,” the article concludes.