What will Azerbaijan-France relations be like going forward?
Former Foreign Minister Tofig Zulfugarov told Globalinfo.az that the crisis between the two countries would inevitably be resolved at one stage or another. According to the former minister, one of the main interests of France is energy problems.
“See, on the one hand, France makes statements against Russia, and on the other hand, it continues to buy gas from Russia. It also makes some moves against Azerbaijan, and on the other hand, it makes efforts to export uranium resources from two of our neighboring countries, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, to France. It is also interesting that there are practically no other export routes to Paris except Azerbaijan.”
The former minister says that France is trying to influence Azerbaijan.
“In my opinion, France wants to influence the political will of Azerbaijan in one way or another. Even before that, Macron was taking steps to aggravate the situation. However, Azerbaijan showed restraint and achieved its goals. I believe this will still be the case in the future.”
According to former Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, it is quite natural in international practice for an ambassador or embassy staff to go on a business trip for briefing purposes.
“Saying to the press, ‘we have purposely called the ambassador back’ is a form of pressure in itself. This is an uncomfortable issue. But their saying so will not be a big problem. What matters is Azerbaijan’s response. In my opinion, in response, our embassy should continue its work in France.”
Mr. Mammadyarov says that the current leadership of France is trying to play a game with Azerbaijan.
“This is all Macron’s game and it should not be taken seriously. So, I do not believe our ambassador will return. Frankly speaking, Macron is here today and gone tomorrow. When he is replaced, relations between Azerbaijan and France will be normalized. After all, French business is doing well in Azerbaijan. There is even a French lyceum in our country, children study the French language. We should not take the recall of the French ambassador seriously in this regard. So they called her back, so what. They have gotten used to behaving like children.”
Zaira Akifgizi
Translated from Globalinfo.az
