It seems that they have started to realize that it is useless in Yerevan as well

The anti-Azerbaijani policy of the French government and parliament, which began during the 44-day Patriotic War, continues. This policy has recently become systematic and consistent. It is as if someone in the country has set a goal to "become more Armenian than Armenians". The next step in this direction was taken on January 17. The upper chamber of the Parliament - the Senate adopted a resolution supporting the territorial integrity of Armenia and also called for the imposition of sanctions against Azerbaijan "in connection with the military operation (?) in Nagorno-Karabakh". The meeting was published on the website of the parliament. 336 senators voted in favor of the draft resolution and 1 senator voted against it. In total, 339 senators participated in the meeting. By the way, let's note that the Senate has 348 members.

The biased, one-sided and baseless resolution regarding Azerbaijan was proposed for discussion on December 1, 2023. On the same day, in the project posted on the website of the legislative body, the Senate stated that it supports the territorial integrity of Armenia and also called for sanctions against Azerbaijan due to local anti-terrorist measures.

Currently, the authors of the resolution have called for "a complete review of the European Union's relations with Azerbaijan" and "imposing an embargo on oil and gas supplies from Azerbaijan". The Zangezur Corridor was also mentioned in the text of the paper, and the senators reminded of France's commitment to the territorial integrity of Armenia. They also asked for guarantees to ensure the right of Armenians to return to Karabakh.

President of the Association of Friends of Azerbaijan in France, Honorary Member of Parliament Jerome Lambert also condemned the resolution of the Senate. In the statement released by the association, J. Lambert said that the resolution was written in the spirit of revenge: "Today, peace should be ensured through dialogue. Instead, the text adopted by the Senate sounds like a call for revenge. Unfortunately, the Senate does not want to play any positive role when talking about international law and the interests of our country in this region of the world. "The lobbying of the Armenian diaspora, which is more extremist than their own country, is leading us in the wrong direction today."

He said that such resolutions hinder peace in the world and pave the way for separatism: "The resolution deals a great blow to the dialogue between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and to the restoration of friendly relations between France and Azerbaijan."

At the same time, the West Azerbaijan Community also issued a statement regarding the resolution of the French Senate. In the statement, it is noted that Azerbaijan did not receive permission from anyone to conduct anti-terrorist measures on its sovereign territory. In this sense, it is emphasized that the French Senate should know its place.

In the meantime, let's note that the resolution of the Senate was not welcomed in Armenia with a wedding-festival, as they say. Political experts and parties met it with almost silence and did not express any positive opinion about the document. Blogger Natalie Aleksanyan wrote on Facebook: "The French Senate has adopted a resolution on the return of Karabakh Armenians. I reminded that according to another resolution adopted by the same Senate, "Artsakh" is an independent state. But what was the value of this accepted document? Air balloon! The French Senate had adopted a senseless balloon. Now he received the second balloon.

Aleksanyan noted that, in fact, it is necessary to understand a simple truth - decisions on the return of Karabakh Armenians will be made by Azerbaijan itself: "In other words, the decisions made without taking into account the opinion of Azerbaijan on Karabakh are just foam. If the French senators do not understand this, at least let our society understand it."

Georgi Bovt, a Russian political scientist and candidate of historical sciences, said in an interview with the Armenian press that the resolution adopted by the Senate will not be supported at the pan-European level. He noted that before, France is known for having a special relationship with Armenia: "This is purely historical. Second, everyone understands that this is not a realistic requirement. The European Union will not argue with Azerbaijan and will not go into conflict. Therefore, the French can adopt such resolutions, but these documents will not be adopted at the pan-European level."

In addition, the political scientist emphasized that he did not observe any conflict between the EU and Azerbaijan. He noted that this is just a game of criticism, there is a certain limit, and sanctions will not be applied against Azerbaijan.

Apparently, France and Armenia have already begun to understand that the document accepted by the French senators is an insignificant piece of paper.

Political experts say that these steps taken by Paris will not affect Azerbaijan's position, but will have a boomerang effect. It is not excluded that the number of those who think like this will increase over time. The fact that the Senate's resolution was greeted with "deathly silence" in Yerevan should be a clear message to French politicians. At the same time, they should understand in Paris that its initiatives will not be supported by the EU, and Azerbaijan will immediately respond adequately to every step taken. The loser will be the "Fifth Republic".

Elkhan SHAHINOGLU,
Head of "Atlas" Research Center

- France not only does not want to correct the wrong South Caucasus policy, but continues to strain relations with Azerbaijan. The policy of Paris against our country mainly started after Macron was elected president in 2017. Until then, the Elysee Palace was trying to maintain the balance between Baku and Yerevan, pretending to be a neutral mediator. However, after the election of Macron, the apparent neutrality was also eliminated. The French took a strong pro-Armenian position during the Second Karabakh War. In October 2020, several attempts were made to pass a resolution against Azerbaijan in the UN Security Council. But the friends of our country did not allow it.

After local anti-terrorist measures, anti-Azerbaijani policy became more widespread. French political centers are trying to "be more Armenian than Armenian". The French Senate has adopted a resolution against Azerbaijan for the second time. He accepted the previous one in November 2022. The previous resolution had the same nature and content as the current one. After 14 months, the French showed that they were not satisfied with it and adopted a new resolution. Unanimously. Only one person was against. This means that all political centers and politicians in France are anti-Azerbaijani. Either they don't have the opportunity to take a fair stand, or they don't want to.

The committee of the Parliament of Azerbaijan rightly accepted the statement. I have been of the opinion for months that political and economic relations with France should be reconsidered. Because Paris does not want to correct its policy. France is perhaps the only country in the world whose anti-Azerbaijani policy has become systematic. Other political centers have also made certain statements against Azerbaijan during these years.

But in any case, they later took a step back from their positions and adjusted their policies. France does none of these things. On the contrary, straining the relationship takes the line. It turns out that this is not only Macron's policy, but the general line of all political centers and parties in France. We have to make our decision. The statement of the National Assembly is an adequate answer. Moreover, we have to make a decision about Total Energies.

"Total Energies" is one of the largest oil and gas producing companies not only in France, but also in the world. The company operates in more than 130 countries on all continents of our planet. "Absheron" has a large stake in the gas field. Now "Total Energies" will receive income from the development of the field, and most of that income will go to the French state budget. France will adopt resolutions against our country and continue its anti-Azerbaijani position. This is inconsistency. Therefore, we have to make a decision regarding the company "Total Energies".

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