Ukrainian flag removed from Vienne, France city hall after Zelenskyy's conversation with Azerbaijani president

Thierry Kovacs, the Mayor of Vienne, France has removed the Ukrainian flag from the Vienne city hall building after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s recent call with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Source: Le Dauphine Libéré

Details: A Ukrainian flag was raised over the Vienne city hall in February 2022 as a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine in light of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

Kovacs explained the reasons for taking the flag down: "The Ukrainian president’s recent statements concerning his phone call with Azerbaijan’s dictator and his claims of shared support for sovereignty and territorial integrity of nation states raise questions. In essence, one can’t rely on Western values and call on the West’s help while also sharing the vision of the regime behind ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh [...]

One also can’t be grateful for Baku’s humanitarian aid to Kyiv, especially in the energy sector in light of the coming winter, while pretending to not notice that Azerbaijan is selling what in effect is Russian gas at 1.5 times the price to finance its military efforts against Armenia, the only true democratic state in the Caucasus. This form of support for the Azerbaijani dictator is unacceptable."

Kovacs stressed that the lowering of the Ukrainian flag will not affect Vienne’s support for the people of Ukraine, but "one can’t fight a totalitarian regime in the name of European values while encouraging another barbaric dictatorship. This is a matter of consistency."

Vienne had strong ties to Armenia for a long time. Vienne is located in the subprefecture of Isère, which has a large Armenian community, and has had sister-city relations with the Armenian city of Goris since 1992.

Background:

• After his call with the President of Azerbaijan, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during the European Political Community summit  in the Spanish city of Granada on 5 October.

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