Azernews.Az

French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to Azerbaijan last Friday could be considered the shortest official visit ever paid to the country, as it lasted only three hours.

For comparison’s sake, Sarkozy, who was on a visit to the South Caucasus region, prior to holding talks in Azerbaijan, spent nearly 24 hours in the Armenian capital Yerevan where he visited a memorial to the victims of World War I-era "genocide" of Armenians and made loud statements at a press conference calling on Turkey to recognize the alleged genocide. In Baku, however, Sarkozy did not take time to visit the Alley of Martyrs where war victims were buried and did not give a news briefing.

But in Yerevan he spoke of the settlement to the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh and the great affection that the French have for Armenia, and signed an agreement on bilateral cooperation.

It is possible that such a shift in Sarkozy’s conduct is due to the 2012 presidential election in France and he is thus trying to secure votes of the country’s 500,000 ethnic Armenian citizens.

Presidential meeting
President Sarkozy and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev discussed successful development of bilateral relations in politics, economics and other areas as well as regional and international issues during their talks in Baku, the Azerbaijani president’s press-service reported.

The two presidents voiced confidence that French-Azerbaijani relations would continue to expand. It was also stated that the French leader’s official visit to Azerbaijan was important for further boosting cooperation between the two countries.

Following the meeting Presidents Sarkozy and Aliyev had a working luncheon.

During Sarkozy’s visit, Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Economic Development and French Development Agency signed a memorandum of understanding on French FIA Group’s operation in the South Caucasus republic.

Also, Sarkozy presented to Azerbaijani First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva the Order of the Legion of Honor in the rank of Officer.

While in Baku, Sarkozy also attended the groundbreaking of a French lyceum.

Karabakh talks and clashes
As strange as it may seem, the leader of France, which co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group brokering settlement to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, along with Russia and the United States, did not hold talks on the issue in Baku. The Karabakh problem was not tabled, though the Azerbaijani president, speaking prior to Sarkozy at the groundbreaking of the French lyceum, placed an emphasis on the issue during his speech.

Sarkozy told the ceremony that France is a friendly country and partner of Azerbaijan. The French president, who openly voices support for the Armenians, said "France is your friend and you can trust it".

Presiden Aliyev had said in his address that as a Minsk Group co-chair, France plays a significant role in efforts to reach a peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict.

"We highly assess its role and hope that as a result of your [Sarkozy] personal efforts, the conflict will soon find its solution in compliance with the norms of international law, and our country’s territorial integrity will be restored," Aliyev said.

Sarkozy said during a prior visit to Armenia that the only option to settle the long-standing Karabakh conflict is to resume peace talks brokered by the Minsk Group.

"We believe that it is possible to find points of commonality to reach peace," Sarkozy told a news conference with President Serzh Sargsyan last Thursday.

He noted that South Caucasus is a quite unstable region, and a settlement of the Karabakh conflict is pivotal for the development of the two countries.

Sarkozy said France, the United States and Russia are ready to redouble their efforts to achieve peaceful resolution of the dispute.

"I will take this call for peace to Azerbaijan with me," he said.

In an interview with Armenia's Mediamax news agency, ahead of his visit to the South Caucasus region, Sarkozy said "there is nothing more dangerous" than the current status quo in the Karabakh conflict.

"The time has come for you [Armenia and Azerbaijan] to make a risky choice for peace, as there is no bigger danger than the preservation of status-quo which gives birth to illusions, provokes revenge and moves off all the prospects for peace."

Sarkozy said restoring peace in the world requires more courage than waging wars.

Referring to France and Germany’s past, Sarkozy said the two countries’ history shows that it is possible to "ease the bitterest pain and overcome deep hate", and even in the most challenging times of history, nations can find the strength to achieve reconciliation.

"No country in the world can understand better than France what Nagorno Karabakh means for Armenia," Sarkozy said. "But 17 years after the war that caused so much death and suffering, the time has come to resolve the conflict and seek ways of reconciliation."

The Azerbaijani government believes that Sarkozy’s visit to the South Caucasus region will speed up a settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Presidential Administration department head Ali Hasanov told the press.

"We suppose that the French president’s visit to South Caucasus, including Azerbaijan, is of great importance," Hasanov said. "Its significance is primarily measured by the fact that France is a co-chair of the Minsk Group and is directly involved in the settlement of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict."

Hasanov said these efforts by Sarkozy do not aim to "squeeze" Russia in Karabakh peace talks.

"Russia was dealing more closely with the settlement of the Karabakh problem on its own. We think that France’s joining these efforts actively in this manner will stipulate the United States’ becoming more active in this regard in the future as well. All three countries want the current status quo [in the Karabakh conflict] to change. And such a change would mean altering the situation concerning Nagorno Karabakh, ensuring Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and enforcing four resolutions of the United Nations Security Council."

According to Hasanov, Sarkozy’s visit to South Caucasus and the statements he made in the Armenian capital, particularly his remarks about the importance of changing the unacceptable status quo in the Karabakh conflict, will greatly contribute to the "future peace processes" in the volatile region.

On the day the French president started his visit to the region, two Azerbaijani soldiers and one Armenian serviceman were killed in clashes on the frontline. Baku and Yerevan accused each other of violating the standing ceasefire.

The conflict between the two South Caucasus republics flared up in the late 1980s due to Armenia's territorial claims. Armenia has been occupying over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's territory since a war in the early 1990s. The ceasefire accord was signed in 1994, but years of peace talks have brought few tangible results, and sporadic clashes on the frontline continue.

The UN SC has passed four resolutions on an unconditional pullout of Armenian armed forces from the occupied Azerbaijani territories, but none of them have been implemented so far.

Gas interests
An Azerbaijani analyst says that along with the Karabakh conflict, supply of Azerbaijan’s energy resources to European markets was among key issues on agenda during Sarkozy’s visit to Baku.

"Though Paris is not as insistent as the European Commission regarding the Nabucco pipeline project [seeking to pump Caspian and Central Asian gas to European markets bypassing Russia], it is interested in delivering Azerbaijani gas to Europe via diversified routes," said Elkhan Shahinoglu, the head of Baku-based Atlas research center. "Look at this coincidence: gas reserves of the newly discovered Absheron field in the Caspian Sea will be tapped by French company Total. This means expansion of Azerbaijan-France energy cooperation and new sources of revenue for the budgets of both countries."

Eastern Partnership – actual visit aim?
Analyst Arastun Orujlu says Sarkozy’s visit to Azerbaijan is primarily linked to Eastern Partnership, the European Union’s program that aims to boost the bloc’s cooperation with six former Soviet republics, including Azerbaijan.

"Overall, Sarkozy visited the regional countries as a representative of the West, including the EU," Orujlu said. "And during this visit the objective being pursued was to convey the EU’s messages to the regional governments. These commitments are to assert European values concerning human rights and freedoms, democracy and the rule of law. These obligations should be strictly followed. Otherwise, the governments of these countries will not be taken seriously."

Besides Azerbaijan, Eastern Partnership covers Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, Moldova, and Belarus. The program envisages simplified visa regulations, free trade and closer energy cooperation, but EU membership is not on the agenda for now. The participating countries are required to bring their laws into compliance with EU standards, pursue economic reforms and bolster democratic development.