Accusing Azerbaijan of destructiveness by the neo-colonial country is baseless

Faced with the fact of the collapse of the French colonial empire, the president of the fifth republic, Charles de Gaulle, developed the concept of "New African policy", sentimental in form, but insidious in essence. He was faced with the task of leaving Africa while maintaining exclusive economic and political advantages in the former colonies.

The general agreed to the sovereignty of African states, but this was only a declared position - "France loves Africa!". At the same time, de Gaulle took the necessary steps to maintain the colonial countries' dependence on Paris, plunder their natural resources, and control their power structures. As François-Xavier Vershaw, one of the founders of the non-governmental organization "Survie" and the author of the French neo-colonial term "Françafrique" said, "The declared legality hid the actual illegality. This illegality could only be organized by illegal means."

Yes, this is how "Fransafric" came into being - a system of special client relationships between the metropolis and its former outlying areas, military-political and economic networks of influence, and a number of lobby groups were established. The presidents after de Gaulle remained faithful to this policy, continuing the former colonial policy under the guise of "democracy". However, in recent years, France's "love" for Africa has faced serious reality. The countries of the "Black Continent" show their true "love" to Paris. African countries, which have been subjected to terrible exploitation for many years, are showing the door to Emmanuel Macron, who is in love with becoming the new Napoleon of Europe. Africa, which once suffered from French influence, is trying to erase the traces of Paris once and for all from the continent.

Of course, the French elite, who consider the expulsion from Africa as a great geopolitical defeat and even a great humiliation, want to make up for it by strengthening in other regions. In particular, after the Second Karabakh war, Paris's desire to assert itself in the South Caucasus region through Armenia is related to the desire to compensate for the humiliation it faced in Africa. In fact, Paris has long wanted to strengthen itself in the South Caucasus region, and now it has a chance to do so amid the weakening of Russian influence. It's no secret that France sees Armenia as the key to the region today. This is confirmed by the constant strengthening of bilateral relations between Paris and Yerevan in recent years.

Now Russia is busy with other problems, and France has decided to take advantage of this situation to increase its influence in the region. The decision of Paris to supply lethal weapons to Armenia is clearly related to the desire to deepen cooperation and prove the importance and relevance of Yerevan. Therefore, the fact that France, which has fallen in love with replacing Russia in the South Caucasus, makes all sorts of nonsense statements to please Yerevan, is consistent with the logic of Paris' insidious geopolitical policy regarding the region.

It should be recalled that on April 2, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne claimed at a press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Azerbaijan allegedly threatens Armenia's territorial integrity. Of course, the claims made about Azerbaijan demonstrate France's bias against our country, its intention to target Baku using all the possibilities, and, in general, its desire to disrupt the fragile peace in the South Caucasus and turn the region into a new source of conflict. All these processes serve outside interests, which have a devastating effect on the situation in the region. If it suits Yerevan that Armenia acts as a lever for foreign forces, it is its choice. But it is clear that Armenia will not win this election. Recent history should be a lesson for Yerevan.

It seems that Nikol Pashinyan follows the same path and thinks that by handing Armenia over to foreign forces, he will strengthen his position and influence regional politics. This is a fundamentally wrong approach to the problems of the region. This has never happened and will never happen. Because a country captured by foreign forces can never determine its foreign policy in a correct and balanced way.

France, which surrounds Armenia with "special care", now accuses Azerbaijan, but it would be good if Paris learned from the disasters caused by its aggressive colonialization policy in Africa and the Middle East. France must end the oppression, persecution and methods of punishment against the activists in the colonies who are justly fighting for independence. At the same time, Paris should think about giving up aggressive measures against the struggle for independence of those nations. In addition, France must understand that Paris will not be allowed to implement a neo-colonial policy in the South Caucasus, and Armenia will have to live with the consequences of this policy, as well as its actions aimed at aggravating the situation in the region.

His aggressive policy and destructive activities are further tarnishing France's already damaged image and deepening Armenia's desperate situation.

It seems that Paris does not accept the new geopolitical reality in the South Caucasus after 2020 and is trying to change the balance of forces in the region. But official Paris has no military, political or economic potential to change this reality created by Azerbaijan. Armenia does not have the strength to start a new escalation. Official Yerevan, including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, knows well that the regional military-political balance is not so fragile that it can be changed with the help of 50 armored vehicles, 3 radar systems or other weapons that will be delivered in the future.

On the contrary, since November 2020, the balance of forces between Azerbaijan and Armenia has changed once and for all, and this difference is increasing every day. The sooner the French leadership understands this reality, the better it will be for both itself and Yerevan.

S. ELAY
XQ