2023-04-28 20:45:00
Author: Akper Hasanov
That rare case when I cannot but agree with the statement made by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
“As far as I know, the United States and the representatives of the European Union, in particular France, had so-called applications for the role of an “honest broker” in the issue of Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization,” she said. “I think they failed these applications.”
With the only clarification that the mission of France specifically failed. It failed a long time ago, from the very time that this country refused the status of a neutral and objective arbiter in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. In this regard, let me remind you of an episode from the January interview given to domestic TV channels by the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. The head of state spoke about how France became a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group.
“French President Jacques Chirac strongly insisted on this. Heydar Aliyev objected to this, repeatedly objected. Subsequently, even Jacques Chirac told me this story more than once, he treated my father with great respect and noted that Heydar Aliyev told him that he is not against him personally, but against France being a co-chair there, because the Armenians there have a huge influence and will influence their policy.Chirac, as he told me, convinced him that they would always be neutral, only after that Heydar Aliyev gave his consent,” the President of Azerbaijan said.
Time has shown that during the period of President Macron, France moved away from a neutral position, taking the side of the occupying state, through whose fault more than a million Azerbaijanis became refugees and internally displaced persons, the Khojaly Genocide was committed, ecocide and urbicide took place, the once flourishing Aghdam was turned into “Caucasian Hiroshima”.
As a result, during the 44-day war in France, they put forward an initiative against us in the UN. At that time, it was not possible to break through it, the member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement prevented this. In addition, the Senate and the National Assembly of France are adopting anti-Azerbaijani resolutions. Everyone in our country sees this and therefore considers it inappropriate to attempt to resuscitate the OSCE Minsk Group, which includes France.
At the same time, demonstrating the highest level of political and diplomatic culture, Baku leaves the doors open for dialogue with Paris. And the agreement to receive in our capital the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France, Catherine Colonna, is proof of this. And she, having arrived in Baku, made a number of, at first glance, correct statements.
“Azerbaijan and France are historical partners. We are one of the first countries to recognize the independence of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has passed a difficult path in its history, and we have seen it,” she said.
But just a day after that, we saw a completely different, familiar Madame Colonna.
“Impeding movement along the Lachin corridor is unacceptable, it is fraught with serious risks of an economic and humanitarian crisis for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh,” she said.
And it was habitual, alas, cynicism. For almost three decades, over a million Azerbaijanis have been in the position of refugees and internally displaced persons. Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis still cannot return to Armenia, the land of their ancestors, but the French Foreign Minister “does not see” this. It also “does not see” the fact that tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians illegally reside in the territory of the Karabakh economic region.
They all have in their hands the passports of citizens of another country, Armenia. Despite all this, Madame Colonna is talking nonsense about some economic and humanitarian risks for Armenian illegal immigrants on our lands. What she announces is nonsense also because Azerbaijan has established a checkpoint on its territory, having every right to do so. So, all these curtsies towards Armenia prove one thing – France should not even try to pretend to be a mediator in the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. She completely failed in this role.
And the failed foreign policy of France is visible not only on the example of Azerbaijan.
“French President Emmanuel Macron is deeply mistaken if he thinks that he can conduct some kind of dialogue about peace behind the backs of the Ukrainian people,” Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said, suggesting that Macron give up part of the French territories – “Can he do it? Let him will give Bordeaux or any other region of France to another state.”
Exactly the same thing has long been offered to France in Azerbaijan. If they like the Armenians illegally residing in the Karabakh economic region of our country so much, then Madame Colonna and Monsieur Macron can consider a plan for their resettlement in Marseille or in another region of France.
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