Macron standing against Baku-Brussels relations - Paris plays games using EU mission
By Trend
The term of the civil mission sent by the European Union (EU) to the Armenian side of the border with Azerbaijan expires on December 20, 2022, Trend reports.
On October 6 this year during the quadrilateral meeting of the leaders of Azerbaijan, the EU, Armenia and France in Prague, a two-month period of the mission’s activity in Armenia was envisaged, and the mission arrived in the country on October 20.
In accordance with the statement of the EU Council, 40 experts were sent to monitor the international border of Armenia with Azerbaijan, analyze the situation in the region and prepare reports.
What was the purpose of the EU civil mission sent to the region? A few days before the end of the mission, the issue of its extension is raised. This, in particular, was said by French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.
According to Colonna, the EU mission "reduced the risk of escalation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border". Is it true? Such a statement by the French foreign minister against the background of information about the violation of the ceasefire regime, spread daily by the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan, shows that she knows nothing about the situation in the region. The ceasefire regime is violated every day, and the risk of provocations by Armenia remains, which is ignored by the EU mission.
What is the point of extending the mandate of the EU mission if it doesn't contribute to stability? Why is France so interested in extending the mandate? Paris has two goals. France is aggressive against Azerbaijan. Paris, through the Senate, the National Assembly and international organizations under its control, is trying to put pressure on Azerbaijan by adopting anti-Azerbaijani resolutions.
The dispatch of the EU mission to Armenia can also be regarded as an attempt by France to put pressure on Azerbaijan, in connection with which it can already be assumed that its report will hardly be fair.
The developments show that in such a situation the Azerbaijani side won’t be interested in extending the terms of the mission. There are also similarities between the EU mission, which is in the sphere of influence of France, and the activities of the former OSCE Minsk Group conducted during the former Karabakh conflict.
The mission is a non-working mechanism not contributing to the peace process, and there is no hope that it will contribute in the long term. If the mandate is extended, it can be assumed that Azerbaijan won't work with the EU mission.
If Baku doesn’t agree to this, the presence of the mission in the region may lead to an aggravation of relations between the EU and Azerbaijan, which neither the EU nor Azerbaijan needs.
In his speeches, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev stated that Brussels contributes to the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace process. Besides, for the EU, which is interested in cooperation with Baku in energy and other areas, the tension in relations with Azerbaijan is undesirable.
However, currently, there is an attempt by France, which is a member of the EU, to aggravate relations between Brussels and Baku. This policy could deal a blow both to the Azerbaijani-Armenian peace process and to Baku-EU relations.
As can be seen, there are serious disagreements within the EU on policy towards the South Caucasus, and Azerbaijan in particular, otherwise, the provocative policy of France, and attempts to attack the Brussels format, would have been prevented. In case of disruption of relations between Azerbaijan and the EU, France will achieve its goal.
The EU, which is the leading organization of the continent experiencing an energy crisis, shouldn’t allow the deterioration of relations with Azerbaijan, rich in gas reserves, making decisions contrary to Baku's interests, but should put France in its place.
Another goal of France is to consolidate in the region, especially in Armenia, both politically and militarily. In this context, Paris sees tensions on the border between Azerbaijan and Armenia as an opportunity. For example, French President Emmanuel Macron, taking advantage of a meeting in Prague, supported the sending of an EU mission to Armenia, and now, striving to extend the mandate of the mission, France aims to strengthen its position in Armenia.
If Paris achieves this goal, it will work in the next phase to establish a permanent regional mission. At the same time, the course of events shows that France's goals in relation to the EU mission are not limited to this.
The French authorities, taking advantage of the anti-Russian propaganda of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Armenia, can ‘displace’ Moscow from Armenia, since Pashinyan is also interested in this.
After his coming to power, the issue of the withdrawal of Russian military and political institutions from Armenia has been widely discussed. At a subsequent stage, we can observe the replacement of these Russian institutions in Armenia by the corresponding institutions of the EU, and indirectly France. Apparently, the EU mission in Armenia is aimed at the withdrawal of Moscow's military and political institutions from Armenia rather than reconciliation between Baku and Yerevan.
Of course, the French authorities are not making these plans alone, but with Yerevan. At present, Armenia, which was controlled by Russia since independence, is changing its patrons and turning into a colony of France. It’s interesting that Russia doesn’t interfere in these processes in any way. In fact, there are a lot of opportunities for Moscow to influence Yerevan.
For example, the military arsenal of Armenia, its borders, energy system, transport network, railway lines, and gas supply are controlled by Russia, but Moscow doesn’t react at all, nor uses its possibilities of military and economic pressure on Yerevan. If this situation continues, the process of passing Yerevan under the control of the West will accelerate.
In general, the course of events shows that France is playing a double game in the South Caucasus. Therefore, the presence of the EU mission under the influence of Paris in the region isn’t expedient for Azerbaijan, the EU, or Russia.
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