A perfect year end: Azerbaijan’s another victory over France in UN Security Council
Azerbaijan has obtained perfect news at the end of the year from the UN Security Council and this will guarantee a great New Year's mood. As is known, France and Armenia convened a meeting of the UN Security Council on the situation on the Azerbaijani Lachin road on December 21.
The French and Armenians work together at the UN, as well as at other international venues. For example, the item “Letter from the Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN” was included on the agenda of the UN Security Council after the hostilities in September 2022 at Armenia’s request. The item was included on the agenda of the Security Council upon the mentioned request through France’s support. By the end of the year, France and Armenia were trying to pass a document to the UN Security Council regarding the events that occurred in September 2022. However, they failed as Baku was able to stop such attempts. By the way, Paris also made such attempts during the 44-day Second Karabakh war. All this happened despite four resolutions of the UN Security Council, for 25 years the UN Security Council has not held a single meeting on Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan! Hypocritical France was one of those countries that did not allow to hold such a meeting.
So, immediately after the discussions on December 20-21, France, as a permanent member of the UN Security Council and currently as its chairman (permanent and non-permanent members act as chairman for one month each), prepared an absolutely pro-Armenian statement, in which the situation on the Lachin-Khankendi road is presented as a humanitarian disaster. The diplomatic battle over the text of the statement continued for 10 days! From the French side, the process was directly led by the administration of French President Emmanuel Macron and his foreign policy advisers.
That’s why Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev hinted at a meeting with members of the Western Azerbaijani community that malicious actions against Azerbaijan are being carried out by several international organisations.
President Aliyev, in a phone talk with President Macron on December 23, touched upon the importance of balanced and impartial behavior regarding regional issues and drew attention to the regrettable actions against Azerbaijan in the Francophonie and some other international organisations.
However, the French leader did not listen to his Azerbaijani counterpart, deciding to rely on the authority of his country and the professionalism of his diplomats. France thought that it would submit the pro-Armenian statement to the UN Security Council, and then, as a next step, turn it into a resolution.
Therefore, "brilliant" diplomat and "brilliant" representative of the Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter-Revolution and Sabotage of Armenia Armen Grigoryan, has recently determined the adoption of a statement in the UN Security Council as one of Armenia’s priority goals. Yerevan and Paris stubbornly tried to distort the situation on the Lachin road through international organisations, in particular, the UN.
However, these actions of France and Armenia, inconsistent with other centres of power, angered many international players.
Firstly, Armenia betrayed Russia again, which was already fed up with Yerevan’s geopolitical affairs. Secondly, this was a gross disrespect for the US-backed peace treaty negotiations and a disrespect for the international community as a whole. France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council and currently a chairman of the Security Council, has been unable to issue a statement on the situation on the Lachin road for 10 days. Moreover, Azerbaijan kicked the French diplomats for a long time and methodically. First, the phrase “Nagorno-Karabakh” was removed from the pro-Armenian statement.
Then it was indicated that humanitarian assistance can only be based on respect for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Further, such expressions as support for Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity were included there. Baku along with its partners managed to soften the text of the statement that after its 6th or 7th edition, when it became de facto pro-Azerbaijani one, Paris completely abandoned it!
The Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Department of the French Presidential Administration is in a hysteria. The initially pro-Armenian draft statement was greatly changed by our diplomats and the French had to abandon their original idea!
According to our information, the French authorities are so furious about the failure at the UN that today the matter rests in the recall of the French permanent representative to the UN and his deputy.
This year's diplomatic championship has ended with the Azerbaijan-France final in the UN Security Council. Moreover, as opposed to the football championship, where Argentina gained a victory over France on a neutral field, Azerbaijan gained a victory over France on its own field - in the UN Security Council, in which Paris is both a permanent member and chairman.
The international community, permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council also saw France’s unfair, biased and hypocritical attitude and openly admitted it.
However, even if the document prepared by France and Armenia had been adopted, it would not have had a real impact on the situation on the spot. However, this was a matter of principle for President Aliyev and our diplomacy. France, which is trying to penetrate the Caucasus by any means for the sake of geopolitical games, does not understand that by such an anti-Azerbaijani step, it is isolating itself more and more from the region.
The secret of the strength of Azerbaijan, which gained a victory over the French in its own field, is President Aliyev and his personal reputation, thanks to which Baku is supported by influential friends around the world.
We express gratitude to all the permanent and non-permanent members of the UN Security Council who support Azerbaijan’s fair position. Special thanks to Russia, the UK, UAE, and Albania!