Baku media reports that France has invited Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Azerbaijan Anne Boyon to Paris for consultations. Apparently, this happened earlier, because the French Foreign Ministry has already announced that President Macron received the ambassador. According to the report, the ambassador was invited for consultations because “Azerbaijan’s actions harm bilateral relations”.
Azerbaijan’s relations with France have been complicated since last year, when Ilham Aliyev rejected another initiative of Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations with the participation of President Macron. In December, a French citizen was arrested in Baku as a “resident of French foreign intelligence in Azerbaijan”. A French citizen was arrested in Baku last month as well. He is accused of “illegally entering the Baku metro depot and causing damage”.
A parliamentary group “Supporting the independence of Corsica” was formed in the Milli Mejlis of Azerbaijan. Leaders of the separatist movement of French New Caledonia have been invited to Baku at least twice since the beginning of the year. Baku, most likely, provides them with serious financial support, but what is listed is apparently the “tip of the iceberg” of France-Azerbaijani relations. What deep contradictions there are, one can only guess.
Paris’ countermeasure is significant. It is not known when and with what additional instructions the French ambassador will return to Baku. There is no information whether Ilham Aliyev invited his ambassador in Paris to Baku for consultations. French capital has quite an influential presence in Azerbaijan, Paris also provided technological support. The first artificial satellite of Azerbaijan is French.
Most likely, Ilham Aliyev’s open declaration with Paris has an external sponsor. Who is he: Is Turkey against France’s presence in the South Caucasus? In principle, Russia is also in tough competition with Paris. Recently, Iran hinted that its and France’s approaches to Armenia are close or coincide.
Will France go to a new tension in relations with Azerbaijan? Inviting the ambassador for consultations is not yet a diplomatic crisis, but it is an indication that the relations between the two countries are out of the mode of closed-door discussion. Aliyev, of course, conditions everything with France’s attitude towards Armenia. It seems that the French side does not mind the situation being made public in that regard. It can be assumed that it is a propaganda trick to “package” the content contradictions. But Paris seems to have started to “squeeze” Aliyev. What does France expect? A preferential regime for communication with Central Asian countries?
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