Thursday, January 11 2024 15:12

ArmInfo. Baku was never satisfied with French "Armenophilism," and Paris could not ignore the  influence of the largest Armenian Diaspora among the countries of the European Union. Russian political scientist Sergei Markedonov commented on the latest tension in relations between Baku and Paris.

In this vein, the political scientist stated that the foreign policy  of the Fifth Republic in the Caucasian direction was a system of  "checks and balances."

"Any initiatives of French parliamentarians in support of  Nagorno-Karabakh and its independence were balanced by the interests  of the oil giant Total and the caution of the executive branch.  Neither the president nor the government of France, accusing  Azerbaijan (and its ally Turkey) of actions against Armenia and the  unrecognized NKR, never even put on the agenda the issue of  legitimizing "Miatsum". And every time critical invective addressed  to Baku was heard from Paris, the tragic pages of the history of the  colonial wars in Algeria and Indochina were recalled in the  Azerbaijani capital," Markedonov noted.  Regarding the reasons for  the current escalation in French-Azerbaijani relations, the political  scientist suggested that the current activation of Azerbaijan in the  French direction is explained by three main reasons.

"Firstly, military-technical cooperation between Paris and Yerevan.  Baku wants to put an end to the conflict with Armenia, and therefore  rejects even ghostly hints about the possible restoration of the  Armenian military potential. Secondly, it is worth keeping in mind  that a peace agreement always has authors. And Azerbaijan does not  want the future peace to have authors from the USA or France. Aliyev  and his team are interested in diplomatic intimacy. If Yerevan  appeals to external guarantors, then the Azerbaijani side is  interested in bilateral agreements "without witnesses." However, one  should delude oneself here It's not worth it," he said.

At the same time, he did not rule out that if Moscow intensifies its  peace guarantee efforts, it is possible that scenaries from the times  of the Caucasian War will also be in demand in the Azerbaijani media.   "Thirdly, we should not forget about the alliance between Baku and  Ankara, which passed the stress test of last year's Turkish  elections. Turkey is an important opponent of France within NATO and  in the Mediterranean theater. Aliyev's anti-colonial rhetorics will  be appreciated by "brother Recep." And last but not least in  importance: There is a text, and there is a context. The actions and  statements of the Azerbaijani leadership are not implemented in a  vacuum," Markedonov added.

According to him, in the conditions of growing global turbulence and  uncertainty, small powers strive to become medium-sized, and  medium-sized ones challenge the great ones. "Figures of authority are  being challenged, previous achievements are no longer perceived as  successes, rather the opposite. Baku, as best it can, is trying to  use its chance!" he concluded.

Earlier, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Paris Leyla Abdullayeva said that  French businessman Martin Ryan was detained in Azerbaijan on December  4 and then arrested for four months on charges of "espionage." The  French Foreign Ministry has confirmed the fact that the French  citizen has been kept in prison by the Azerbaijani authorities since  the beginning of December and has described the detention as  arbitrary. Paris called for the immediate release of the French  citizen.