France is burning, yet Macron tries to set the Caucasus on fire for Russia’s sake? Opinion by James Wilson

Emmanuel Macron is obviously against a peaceful resolution in the South Caucasus, together with Russia and Iran, James Wilson opines in his recent piece for the EU Reporter. Caliber.Az reprints the article.

France is rocked by a wave of protests and its President Emmanuel Macron blames “video games” for the violent outbreaks. Without even trying to deal with the riots, he is playing his own game, deliberately striving to set on fire not just his own capital but the region which is a source of energy resources for the entire European Union. 

The South Caucasus is a very tight arena, where the interests of several superpowers collide. A separatist enclave on the occupied Azerbaijani territory of Karabakh, controlled by the Russian military and populated by Armenians, is at the centre of the regional confrontation, which is fizzling out. The EU and the US are very interested in that because Azerbaijan is a strategic alternative source of energy resources. Both the US and the EU are brokering a peace deal, because, as the Israeli Begin-Sadat Centre underlines, the enclave is a “kill switch” for the gas and oil supplies to the West.

However, Emmanuel Macron is obviously against a peaceful resolution, together with Russia and Iran. On June 27, at a meeting with representatives of the Armenian community of Marseille, Macron stated that he was putting more pressure on Azerbaijani President Aliyev than Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan, claiming that he is “the only one who has a clear position and message on the issue” of the enclave. And the message is military support for the pro-Russian separatists. He stressed that “France has sent a military attaché to its embassy in Armenia for the first time”, noting that his support for separatism in Karabakh is not shared by the rest of Europe: “I will continue my efforts, even if I am almost the only one in the international family carrying out this agenda”.

Macron's Marseille statement is not just explicit evidence of his active support for pro-Russian separatism in Karabakh. Macron knows that he goes against the EU’s official policy, yet seems unfazed by that notion. Why?

According to the Ukrainian media, the reasoning behind this anti-European policy of Macron is that France does not wish for a Ukrainian victory and “regularly communicates with the Kremlin in the “deep curtsy” mode. The energy and economic dependence of the French on Russia forces it to play along with aggression against Ukraine, while pressuring Azerbaijan to please Putin…” - the Ukrainian outlet 24tv reckons. “The influential forces in France are not interested in the victory of Ukraine and shift the focus from Putin’s dictatorship to Azerbaijan, which provides free fuel to Ukraine”, - stressed the Ukrainian online edition Fakty.ua. “Paris is striving for a political coalition with the Russians to strengthen its influence in the Caucasus”, - pointed out Censor - one of the largest online outlets in Ukraine.

One might say that Ukrainians are self-absorbed because of the war, but their vision of the French tendency or shift towards Moscow’s interests are shared by many analysts in the EU and in the US.

Here are some quotes:

The Wall Street Journal: “Paris has taken positions that, on balance, strengthen the Russian and Iranian game in the South Caucasus”.  

Israeli outlet Hamodia: “There is a bizarre communion between France, Iran, and Russia, who joined forces against Azerbaijan and Israel in the Caucasus”.

Israeli online TV i24: “The main supporter of the military-political decision of Paris regarding the sending of weapons to Armenia was President Emmanuel Macron himself”.

Bulgarian edition Actualno: “Macron is pursuing a policy in the South Caucasus that counters the efforts of Washington and Brussels to achieve peace.”

Croatian edition Direktno: “French politicians who support Armenian puppet separatists in Karabakh are actually helping Putin in the South Caucasus.”

Montenegrin edition Portalanalitika: “France's support allows Moscow to maintain its military presence in the South Caucasus."

Latvian edition La.lv: “The leaders of France and Russia are encouraging the escalation of the conflict in the Caucasus, masking their actions with mediatory rhetoric.”

There is an irrefutable consensus on Macron’s anti-European activity, which benefits Russia. If the EU wants to protect its energy security, he must be stopped.