Monday, January 15 2024 12:05

ArmInfo.Nathalie Loiseau, chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, European  Parliament has responded to Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Leyla Abdullayeva, who was critical of Le Figaro for its article entitled "Azerbaijan: Baku's great offensive to denigrate France". 

In particular, Ms Abdullayeva wrote in her X account: 

"Le Figaro, you still pretend not to know that Karabakh is part of  the internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan. For the first  time in a long time, a just and lasting peace is possible. Peace  needs truth; no false narratives. Le Figaro, help peace instead of  seeking to destabilize the situation in our region." 

In response, Nathalie Loiseau wrote: 

"The ambassador of a country which does not know freedom of the press  believes she can give instructions to a French newspaper. And forget  to say that if the Caucasus is still experiencing tensions, it is its  country, Azerbaijan, which is responsible. Armenia only aspires to  peace." 

The article entitled "Azerbaijan: Baku's great offensive to denigrate  France" reads, in particular: 

"The Caucasian country led by autocrat Iliam Aliev is increasing  information manipulation operations to discredit the image of Paris,  whose support for the Armenians it cannot digest.

"Has Baku launched a witch hunt against France? A young French  expatriate, Martin Ryan, has been detained for five weeks in Baku  prisons. His arrest by the Azerbaijani security services, who accused  him of espionage, preceded the dismissal of two members of the French  embassy in Azerbaijan on December 27. In the process, Baku asked  France to " stop its interference in (its) internal affairs". The  Quai d'Orsay, which considers this declaration unfounded, declared:  "as a measure of reciprocity ", two agents of the Azerbaijani  representation in Paris persona non grata. According to Open  Intelligence, the tensions would be such that they would have pushed  the DGSE to close its office in Baku.

"This episode is only the visible face of a war waged behind the  scenes by Baku to denigrate France, several signals of which have  appeared in recent weeks."