Why the diplomatic tension between the Republic of Azerbaijan and France

According to the international group Tasnim news agency, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Jihon Bayramov Azerbaijan said in a press conference: After two diplomats of Azerbaijan and France declared each other as undesirable persons, the current state of relations between the two countries has reached the lowest level.

The day before, on December 26, the Republic of Azerbaijan accused 2 employees of the French Embassy of “activities contrary to the diplomatic status” and introduced them as “undesirable elements” and asked them to leave the country within 48 hours.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs categorically denied the accusations made by Baku against French diplomats.

A day later, Paris announced that two employees of the embassy of the Republic Azerbaijan has been declared an undesirable element in France.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Azerbaijan announced that Paris did not provide any grounds for declaring Azerbaijani diplomats as “undesirable elements”.

p dir=”RTL”>1. Why did the two countries declare each other’s diplomats as “undesirable elements”?

A few days before Baku’s decision on French diplomats on December 26, material The disclosure of the French espionage network in the Republic of Azerbaijan was published in the Azerbaijani media close to the government.

Jihon Bayramov, who did not want to comment on these claims, said in his press conference on Thursday that before From the decision regarding the diplomats, they gave a note to the French Embassy stating that there are serious facts about two of its employees in the government bodies of Azerbaijan.

They were invited to conduct such research. The consent of that country is necessary for the investigation of persons with diplomatic immunity. If France, as they say, was convinced of the innocence of its colleagues, it could allow this investigation.

Jihon Bayramov said that France, unlike the Republic of Azerbaijan, arrested two Azerbaijani diplomats “without any evidence”. declared as undesirable people.

He emphasized: Let me say once again that we have evidence and facts in our action, but they don’t.

The French Foreign Ministry explained in its statement that the designation of two Azerbaijani diplomats as undesirable elements is merely a “retaliatory measure” to Baku’s official action.

In information which was published by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Wednesday, it is stated: It considers the decision of two employees of the French Embassy in the Republic of Azerbaijan to declare an undesirable element by Baku. Paris categorically rejects the accusations of the Azerbaijani side to justify its decision. In response, France declared two employees of the Azerbaijani embassy in France undesirable.

2. Why is the Republic of Azerbaijan unhappy with France?

In recent months, the Republic of Azerbaijan has often criticized France for “implementing a biased and militarized policy” in the Caucasus region. The South criticizes.

In his press conference, Jihun Bayramov also accused France of “adopting an Azerbaijan-phobic and anti-Azerbaijani position”.

Baku’s dissatisfaction with France is not new. In 2022, French President Emmanuel Macron, in an interview with the France 2 TV channel, made accusations against the Republic of Azerbaijan that provoked the official anger of Baku.

He said: “Moscow is busy Creating tension is in the interest of Azerbaijan”. Ilham Aliyev, the president of Azerbaijan, called the words of his French counterpart insulting, unacceptable, false and provocative, thus declaring that France withdraws from the process. The normalization of relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and Armenia has been abandoned.

Baku officially announced that France has authorized biased actions that disrupt regional peace and stability in the South Caucasus, the common policy of the Union. Europe endangers the region and pursues the policy of militarization.

Baku from the joint meeting in the form of Azerbaijan, Armenia, the European Union, France and Germany, which was planned from the beginning in the Spanish city of Granada. He refused. Then he refused to participate in the five-party meeting in the form of Azerbaijan, Armenia, the European Union, France and Germany, which was planned in the city of Granada, Spain.

Signing of military cooperation between France and Armenia In October of this year, Baku was also displeased and assessed the action of Paris as a “destructive activity” in the region.

French officials announced that the weapon given to Armenia was of a defensive nature.

3. To what extent can the political tension between the two countries increase?

Amin Ebrahimov, a former Azeri diplomat, says that the tension in relations between the Republic of Azerbaijan and France is in the background of the Russian conflict. and the West will be analyzed.

According to him, as long as the tension between the West and Russia increases and this competition intensifies, the government of Azerbaijan will be more forced to seek refuge in Russia and at the same time Relations with the West will worsen.

Amin Ebrahimov emphasizes: For the Azerbaijani government, France is always the easiest target among Western countries when conducting anti-Western propaganda. France has a pro-Armenian and negative image in the Azerbaijani society, and the Azerbaijani government exploits all this to discredit the West, turn against the Euro-Atlantic and the democratic line in general.

Farhad Mamedov The head of the Center for Strategic Studies believes that France is the initiator of the tension between the two countries. According to him, in the last 3 years, France has spent all its diplomatic efforts on organizing provocations against Azerbaijan in international organizations. in which he is a member.

Mammedov says: the degree of tension between the two countries depends on France’s actions in the future.

However, Farhad Mamedov believes that the tension with France will not affect the economic, commercial and other areas between the two countries. He said that Azerbaijan never wants to take a step against France, on the contrary, it is always in favor of maintaining relations.

slow, positive comments and predictions can be made.

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