France's provocative activity against Azerbaijan in the UN Security Council is open hostility
France continues its insidious policy towards Azerbaijan. Official Paris uses the most diverse platforms to carry out its evil intentions. One of them is the UN Security Council.
It is known that the UN, the largest universal organization, was established after the Second World War to protect and strengthen international peace and security, as well as to develop cooperation between states. The UN is considered a universal forum with unique legitimacy, a leading structure of the international collective security system and a key element of modern multilateral diplomacy. The Security Council is the highest permanent body of the UN. According to Article 24 of the UN Charter, the Security Council is the main body of the UN responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security. The Council is one of the six main organs of the UN. Five of its 15 members are permanent, and 10 are non-permanent members elected for two years. France is also a permanent member of the Council of Ministers along with China, Russia, Great Britain and the United States. Like other permanent members, France has veto power in the body.
France is a nuclear weapon state. It is one of the 12 countries that founded NATO in 1949, and one of the 6 countries that founded the European Coal and Steel Community (now the European Union) in 1952. In particular, being a permanent member of the UN Security Council requires France to be responsible for the protection of international security and peace. The position of Paris regarding Azerbaijan in recent years, especially during the days of the 44-day Patriotic War and after it, is in no way compatible with its place and role in the system of international relations. In addition, France has been the co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group for many years. The steps taken by France today are a clear example of how it is co-chaired. However, in April, July, October and November of 1993, 4 resolutions demanding the withdrawal of Armenian troops from occupied Azerbaijani lands were adopted in the same TC. France proved that its words and deeds did not match with its activities in the following years.
France is currently trying to use its position in the TC against Azerbaijan. Paris took up this adventure for the first time during the Patriotic War. Thus, seeing that the occupying Armenian army fled in front of our victorious army, and saw that our settlements were successively liberated, Paris tried to use the platform of the Council of Ministers against our country and put pressure on it. On October 19, 2020, a closed meeting of the Security Council was held regarding Armenia's aggression against Azerbaijan. After the meeting, on the initiative of France, the co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group, which existed at that time, prepared a draft of the statement of the President of the Council of Ministers and distributed it among the member countries for their approval. Resolutions No. 822, 853, 874 and 884, adopted by the Council of Ministers on the above-mentioned date and demanding the withdrawal of Armenian troops from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, were not referred to in the draft. 7 member states of the Non-Aligned Movement represented in the SC - Indonesia, Tunisia, Niger, Dominican Republic, Vietnam, Republic of South Africa and St. Vincent and the Grenadines - proposed to include a reference to known resolutions of the SC in the project. However, the co-chair countries said that this was unacceptable. At the same time, the co-chair countries tried to adopt the statement twice through the silent procedure. But the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement expressed a principled position and insisted on the reference to the Security Council resolutions in the document. After that, the other co-authors, led by France, withdrew the draft statement in disgrace.
Addressing the people on October 26, 2020, President Ilham Aliyev said: "Look, what is happening recently? The co-chair countries of the Minsk Group call a meeting of the UN Security Council. They had already done it once. It seems that the document adopted there did not satisfy them. This time, a few days ago, we saw and learned about the emergence of a new document. We immediately took action and did not allow this document to be accepted. Although the three co-chair countries put great pressure on other countries that are members of the UN Security Council.
What was the purpose of this? The goal is very clear, the resolutions adopted in 1993 on the withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from our lands should be overshadowed, they should be left behind, they should either become invalid or lose their importance. That was the goal. How fair is that? We again saw an attempt to support the occupier. But what happened in the end? It didn't pass. How did it not pass? The member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement did not allow it like men, they supported us, thank you. Although they were pressured, maybe threatened. But they stood behind us like men, just as we stand behind them. This shows that it will not pass. My dear brother, the President of the Republic of Turkey, has repeatedly said that the world is bigger than five. He is absolutely right. Well, this poll showed it. They united, and again they threw out the document that meets the interests of Armenia, but it did not pass. Because there is justice. No matter how much they violate this justice, no matter how much they destroy this right, there is still justice. Justice and international law are on our side. That's why we will continue our way."
After the end of the war, on November 23, 2020, when he was in the liberated city of Aghdam, the head of state commented on this issue again: "During the civil war, there were attempts to adopt a new resolution by the UN Security Council. If that resolution had been adopted, of course it would not have stopped us, but it would have created an unnecessary scene. The member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement did not allow the adoption of that resolution, they supported us. I also thanked them and said that they stood behind us like men. Although the great powers put great pressure on them. Many members of the Non-Aligned Movement recognize Azerbaijan as a country that is both independent, strong and ready to defend them. We have provided humanitarian financial assistance to more than 30 countries during the pandemic, including special assistance to the Non-Aligned Movement through the World Health Organization. All these works have paid off. We were able to get the necessary international support on the issue of Karabakh, which is the main issue for us."
The failure of France's initiatives did not deter her from new initiatives, on the contrary, it seemed to make her even more perverse. A year ago - on December 20-21, 2022, France and Armenia called a meeting of the Council of Ministers regarding the situation on the Lachin road. Although both countries tried to legitimize the next injustice against Azerbaijan on the global platform, they were once again disgraced. It was also noteworthy that France was a permanent member of the UN Security Council and was the chairman of the organization at that time. Although official Paris used all its resources for ten days, it was unable to accept a statement. Thus, it is clear that the failure of the French leadership's attempts to adopt a resolution against Azerbaijan in the UN Security Council in recent years is an indication of its failure in foreign policy. In Paris, they should know that diplomatic and political victories over the villains of our country will continue.
Farhad Mammadov,
Director of the South Caucasian Research Center
France is quite an important country in the world. Of course, not among the superpowers. But it is in the second row. It is a former empire, that is, it has colonies, nuclear weapons, is one of the founding countries of NATO and the European Union, is a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and has the right of veto. That is, this country has great resources. However, France has recently faced serious problems in international politics. Because other countries are attacking its traditional interests and these attacks are successful.
Today, France used all its arsenal against Azerbaijan. It works against Azerbaijan in all international platforms it is a member of, represented in its leadership, and established. In fact, it has reached the point where it exhibits a more radical position than Armenia. However, the weakening of France is to such an extent that even in organizations of which Azerbaijan is not a member, Paris cannot achieve its wishes. For example, within the framework of the International Organization of La Francophonie, its proposed declarations or other documents are adopted after major changes. Discussions supported by France were held twice in the UN Security Council, where it was not possible to accept any document against Azerbaijan. On the one hand, this shows the state of modern international relations. In other words, traditionally large, powerful and wealthy states are powerless in front of the newly formed powers. The current situation in France-Azerbaijani relations is a clear indication of this.
Aydın MIRZAZADE,
Member of Parliament, political scientist
- The anti-Azerbaijani position is very clearly manifested in the foreign policy of France. This causes surprise not only in Azerbaijan, but also among France's allies. At the root of the biased policy of a big country like France against a small state that gained its independence only 30 years ago is its love for Armenia. France is currently trying to be more Armenian than Armenians. On the one hand, this is due to the dependence of the country's leadership on the internal Armenian diaspora, and on the other hand, the desire to compensate for its failed domestic and foreign policy. The current power of France is trying to show that it is strong in some field. But this attempt itself is unsuccessful. Despite all the efforts of the French leadership, it is not possible to adopt anti-Azerbaijani decisions in international organizations and reduce the world's interest in Azerbaijan. Today, Azerbaijan is an active and well-known country in world politics. The very fact that COP29 will be held in our country next year indicates the growing influence of Azerbaijan.
At the same time, despite the attempts of Paris to participate in the South Caucasus as an actor, the three countries of the region can establish their relations without France. The fact that Azerbaijan has already entered into contact with Armenia without intermediaries, reached a common denominator on a number of issues, and the attempts made in connection with the peace agreement show that the conclusion of the agreement is not far away. After the establishment of normal neighborly relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, all attempts of France will completely fail. At some point, the authorities that will come to power in France will probably have to apologize to Azerbaijan for the country's hypocritical and biased policy.
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