French Mayor removes Ukraine flag from city hall after phone call between Zelenskyy and Azerbaijan Prez Aliyev

The mayor of Vienne, a city in south-eastern France, has removed the Ukrainian flag from the city hall after an “unacceptable” phone conversation between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev. Initially, the Ukrainian flag had been hoisted at the city hall to express solidarity with Kyiv for the war in Ukraine. However, Thierry Kovacs argued that it was contradictory to “claim Western values and request Western assistance” while supporting Azerbaijan and what he referred to as the “ethnic cleansing” of ethnic-Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. “This doesn’t diminish Vienne’s support for the Ukrainian people, but we cannot oppose a totalitarian regime in the name of European values while simultaneously endorsing another dictatorial and brutal regime. It’s a matter of consistency, " said the mayor in a Facebook post on Thursday.

The phone call between Presidents Zelensky and Aliyev had reportedly included expressions of gratitude from Zelenskyy for Azerbaijan’s “significant humanitarian assistance,” with both leaders reaffirming their commitment to the principles of state sovereignty and territorial integrity. Last month, Azerbaijan regained control of the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh during a brief “counterterrorism” operation. Nagorno-Karabakh, primarily populated by ethnic-Armenians, had declared independence from Baku in the early 1990s, but this declaration was not recognised by any country, including Armenia. Despite assurances from Baku about protecting civilians, over 100,000 Armenians, approximately 90 per cent of Nagorno-Karabakh’s estimated population, fled the region after a ceasefire was reached in late September.