Azerbaijan has accused France of “destabilizing” the Caucasus by providing aid to Armenia. The two Asian countries are still in conflict over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region.
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France has decided to expel two Azerbaijani diplomats, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Wednesday December 27. A “reciprocity measure”after Azerbaijan’s decision to declare “persona non grata” two French diplomats on Tuesday, against a backdrop of tensions with Armenia.
Baku had accused French diplomats of having carried out activities “incompatible with their status”without further details, what Paris “categorically refutes”. Azerbaijan’s ambassador to France was summoned to the Quai d’Orsay on Wednesday “to see these elements communicated to us”specified French diplomacy.
In recent months, Azerbaijan has criticized France for “destabilize” the Caucasus by providing aid to Armenia, its rival, of which Paris is a historic supporter. Armenia and Azerbaijan maintain conflicting relations, in particular because of Nagorno-Karabakh, a separatist territory of which Baku took control in September.
France, host to a large Armenian diaspora, has been involved in mediation between these two former Soviet republics and has displayed its unfailing support for Armenia. Baku and Yerevan recently announced their desire to normalize their relations and assure that a peace agreement could be signed soon, but the talks are making little progress.
