2024-03-01 15:04:45
Author: Elchin Alioglu
Source: Trend
The positions of some Western countries and organizations against Azerbaijan have started to harden rapidly. At the same time, the European Union, which offers Yerevan a new option for arming – direct production of weapons, ammunition and military equipment in Armenia, is also trying to threaten Baku with sanctions.
The European Union (EU) prepared resolutions by adopting the two-year report “Common Foreign and Security Policy” (CFSP) and “Common Security and Defense Policy” (CSDP).
Both documents call for sanctions against Azerbaijan.
In the resolutions, Azerbaijan is required to provide “sustainable guarantees regarding the return of Armenians from Karabakh and the guarantee of their rights”.
It is emphasized that “the military operation and ethnic cleansing carried out by the official Baku against the Armenians of Karabakh has dealt a serious blow” to the peace talks between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
Further, it is required to strengthen the mandate of the European Union Observation and Monitoring Mission in Armenia (EUMA), increase its staff and duration of activity, as well as the deployment of EUMA observers along the border of Armenia with Turkey.
At the same time, Azerbaijan is requested to “allow the placement of EUMA observers along the border in the territory of Azerbaijan and in Nagorno-Karabakh”.
In the resolutions, the vice-president and the high representative of the European Commission are addressed and requested to support the increase of the defense potential of Armenia through the European Peace Facility (EPF).
“We emphasize once again that our calls regarding Azerbaijan have not yet affected the European Union’s policy regarding this country. We call on the European Union to immediately apply sanctions against Azerbaijan and suspend the Memorandum of Understanding between the European Union and Azerbaijan on strategic partnership in the field of energy.” , – the resolutions say.
Deputies of the European Parliament declared that they fully support Armenia’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and border inviolability.
In addition to imposing large-scale sanctions against Azerbaijan, the European Parliament demands the “punishment” of persons represented in the political and military leadership of our country.
At the same time, the organization states: “In case of any military aggression of Azerbaijan against the territorial integrity of Armenia in any form, the import of oil and gas from Azerbaijan should be stopped immediately.”
The European Parliament also demands the suspension of negotiations on a new partnership agreement between the European Union and Azerbaijan.
… Thus, the European Parliament shook its finger at us again. Like all other resolutions, declarations and declarations of the mentioned institution directed against our country and our people, the two documents we mentioned – CFSP and CSDP – are not considered mandatory but have a consultative function by the European Union (EU).
At the same time, unlike the European Parliament, which is infected with Armenian love, Islamophobia and Turkophobia, the executive structures of the EU do not accept the hysterical calls and marasmatic positions in the parts of the documents related to Azerbaijan.
There are two main reasons for the adoption of documents: elections and geopolitics.
European Parliament elections will be held in June. In addition to France, Italy, Germany, Greece, Cyprus, Belgium, Spain, etc. Deputies from EU countries are trying to gain the support of the Armenian communities in the countries they represent, trying to create an “Armenian more than an Armenian Catholic” influence.
For example, Armenian millionaire Kaspar Karampetyan, who lives in Brussels, occupies a special place among the “stable donation” sources of MEPs from France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Andorra, Monaco, Spain, Portugal, Liechtenstein and Switzerland.
During the years when 20 percent of Azerbaijan’s territories were under Armenian occupation, K. Karampetyan, who organized the visits of European Parliament deputies to Khankendi, made serious efforts to “legalize” the separatist regime in the EU.
K. Karampetyan, who is originally from Greece and has the citizenship of Luxembourg and Armenia, also showed special activity in the adoption of the resolutions this time, and pushed the deputies whom he had “fed” for years to vote in favor of the document.
As for the geopolitical reasons for the adoption of the documents, the deputies of the European Parliament follow the instructions of the political elites of France and Germany.
To be more precise, they act within the framework of EU geostrategy on the South Caucasus by French President Emmanuel Macron and Olaf Scholtz.
Since Macron’s attempts to quickly arm Armenia and, at the same time, put serious pressure on Azerbaijan to force Baku to make certain concessions did not work, he joined the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the process.
The meeting between the foreign ministers of Azerbaijan and Armenia, Jeyhun Bayramov, and Ararat Mirzoyan in Berlin, mediated by German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock, was an initiative aimed at getting a more stable format for EU positions in the South Caucasus.
The discussion of the clauses of the bilateral agreement between Baku and Yerevan “On the establishment of peace and interstate relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia” continues.
However, the destructive activity of France in our region is also expanding.
In addition to selling weapons and military equipment to Armenia, official Paris intends to organize the production of weapons, ammunition, spare parts and military equipment on the territory of Armenia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s intention to visit Armenia is related to this. Considering that the main purpose of Zelenskiy’s foreign visits is to acquire weapons and ammunition, as well as to discuss cooperation options for ammunition production, Kiev may wish to purchase weapons from Yerevan at the expense of EU funds in the future, after France starts military production in Armenia.
This raises the risks for Azerbaijan to a higher level than it was until now, because the process of arming the remnants of the Armenian army is being carried out by land transportation and air transportation from the territories of Georgia and Iran.
The influence of the Armenian community in France on the foreign policy of Paris should not be overestimated. Because for Emmanuel Macron, Armenia is a serious stage in the process of ensuring the geopolitical ambitions of Paris, not only in the South Caucasus, but in the entire post-Soviet space.
With the full support of the European Union, the Franco-German duo is active in the South Caucasus and the entire post-Soviet region, as well as in Africa.
Of course, relations with Armenia can in no way compensate for the losses suffered by France in Africa: the economic, political and geopolitical weights are completely different.
Relations with Armenia occupy a special place not only for Paris, but also for the EU in the strategy of the post-Soviet space. If Emmanuel Macron’s goal regarding military operations in Ukraine is to weaken Russia, in the South Caucasus he is trying to distance Yerevan from Moscow as much as possible.
Macron and Scholtz want to replace Russia with France in the South Caucasus.
However, considering Azerbaijan’s close relations with Russia, Turkey, Britain and the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, Paris’s influence on Baku is minimal. For this reason, E. Macron will strive to conduct maximally intensive and aggressive policy in the region.
For the reason we discussed, despite the emphasized activity of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz as a peacemaker, we should approach the contacts between France and Armenia more seriously and more carefully.