Azerbaijani president gave worthy response to Macron, showing supremacy of country’s national interests: political analyst

By  Trend

Azerbaijan, which pursues a multi-vector and balanced policy in the system of international relations and global politics, has the right to expect other states to maintain balance in their relations, especially if they are members of the OSCE Minsk Group, Fikret Sadikhov, well-known Azerbaijani political analyst and former diplomat, told Trend.

He said the last visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to the region can be regarded as disrespect for Azerbaijan.

“As part of the recent regional visit, it was expected that Macron would visit all three countries of the region,” Sadikhov noted. “However, the French president participated only in the Francophonie summit in Yerevan. Considering this, I think it is logical to ask what principles the French leader was guided by when ignoring a visit to neighboring Azerbaijan. How relevant was such a step by the leading European country that co-chairs the OSCE Minsk Group?”

France has repeatedly stated that it is committed to the peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and recognizes the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Sadikhov reminded.

Selective attitude towards one of the parties of the conflict demonstrates disrespect for the other side, and in particular for Azerbaijan, he added.

“The European politician, by ignoring the visit to Azerbaijan, made a serious diplomatic mistake as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, involved in the settlement of the conflict,” Sadikhov said. “As a rule, while being in the South Caucasus region, officials of the US administration, as well as Russian politicians, visit all three countries of the region. This is natural, since all these countries are involved in the OSCE MG. This was recently demonstrated by US National Security Adviser John Bolton, who visited all three countries as part of his South Caucasus trip. Russian politicians adhere to the same principle, and this is natural. Such a position of these states corresponds to their statements about the need for a peaceful settlement of the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and maintaining stability in the region.”

The fact that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev rejected the invitation of the French side to attend the Paris Peace Forum is an objective step and a worthy answer to Macron, Sadikhov added.

“The Azerbaijani president made it clear for the French leader that the national interests of our country are above all,” Sadikhov said. “At the same time, Azerbaijan didn’t ignore this historic event due to wise state policy, and our country was represented at the Paris Peace Forum by Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov. In my view, in the current situation, it was a balanced decision, and the politicians, whose behavior is far from diplomatic ethics and competent governance, should take note of this."