Borrell's pro-Armenian tirade confirms France's failure to digest Azerbaijan's smart policy Dogs may bark but the caravan moves on

Through its mouthpiece Josep Borrell, the European Union has once again expressed its "sympathy" with Armenia. The head of European diplomacy made unfounded accusations and threats against Azerbaijan at a press conference following the EU Council meeting in Brussels. According to him, "the EU is concerned about Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's claims on Armenian territory and any violation of Armenian sovereignty will have serious consequences for Baku".

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry called Borrell's potshot a clear distortion of the facts and disregard for Azerbaijan's legitimate interests, recalling the double standards that further aggravate relations between Baku and the EU. Azerbaijan has made it clear that it will not tolerate the falsification of realities and distortion of the Azerbaijani President's views on historical facts concerning the territories of Azerbaijan and Armenia, and that such statements provoke a militarised policy towards our country.

The fact that the European Union has for decades demonstrated a policy of double standards towards our country is not a revelation, it is a fact that Azerbaijan has to face in the current post-war period. We all remember very well how, during the years of Armenian occupation of Azerbaijani territories, Europe was in no rush to condemn that aggression, ignoring its sad consequences in the form of one million Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons.

However, in the Old World, they very dramatically express "concern" about the fate of the Karabakh Armenians, who left the territory of Azerbaijan of their own free will.

The European Union does not take note of Yerevan's attempts to hush up the negotiations and its delay in signing a peace treaty, nor does it express concern about the fact that important transport links in the region are still closed due to Armenia's destructive policies. But for some reason, the Europeans are "concerned" about Azerbaijan's policy, which has single-handedly solved the perennial Karabakh problem. And the leader of this anti-Azerbaijani choir is often Borrell. However, it is clear that Azerbaijan will not retreat from its legitimate positions. Azerbaijan has regained control of the Karabakh region and is determined to consistently promote the peace agenda in the region, which is a red line in President Ilham Aliyev's statements.

"We do not need a new war (with Armenia - Ed). We have achieved what we wanted, we have restored international law, we have restored historical justice, we have restored our national dignity and we have shown the enemy his place," the head of state said.

Speaking to Caliber.Az, MP Rasim Musabekov noted that provocative statements by the head of European diplomacy mean nothing.

"He will soon drop out of the game because the European elections are coming up, after which Borrell will retire. The foreign ministers he has gathered are also aware that Borrell is no longer a figure, and they are hardly bothered by his recommendations. Josep Borrell, as they say, is Macron's creature, playing the role of the French foreign ministry's and the president's mouthpiece. And France's position on Azerbaijan is known, it is one-sided and not only pro-Armenian, but only Armenian," the MP said.

According to him, each EU country is guided by its own interests, not by Borrell's recommendations.

"When French politicians say that they are defending the interests of France and not those of Armenia, it turns out that in reality, it is France and not Armenia that has lost out. All in all, the intention of France (which uses EU resources and structures to promote its own geopolitical interests) is to take over the Armenian-Azerbaijani settlement in order to satisfy Yerevan's interests and to establish itself in the South Caucasus. From here, it will spread its influence to Central Asia and, in the long term, use this region to push its interests southwards - to Iran and the Middle East.

As we can see, France is ambitious, but, as history has shown, it is not able to match what it wants to achieve. Azerbaijan is building its regional policy based on its interests, not on what Macron and those around him want to see happen. Neither Borrell nor Macron are in a position to come up with anything real to do with Azerbaijan. And their threats and sanctions should be seen as a wish wash, nothing more. They accuse Baku of some territorial claims against Armenia, but they have not noticed the direct occupation of Azerbaijani territories for 30 years. To this day, the Armenian Constitution and state documents of Armenia, their official websites, present these very territorial claims. In reality, the territories on which Armenia exists are carved out of lands that historically belonged to Azerbaijan. Moreover, all the geographical maps of the Russian Empire show the existence of the Khanate of Irevan. No Armenia was mentioned. Thus, all these facts confirm historical justice, which, of course, is not in the interests of Armenia and its Western patrons," Musabekov concluded.