Harutyunyan's trip to Paris draws a thick line under Macron's mediation Baku doesn't need such "peacemakers"
Azerbaijan won the 44-day war two years ago, but the Karabakh separatists are still wandering around the world in search of understanding and moral support. Araik Harutyunyan, the leader of Karabakh Armenian gangs, went to France "to win some sympathy".
Upon arriving in Paris, Harutyunyan immediately met with French senators. But if the heart-breaking cries and appeals of the Armenian visitor, whose place is in jail for crimes against Azerbaijani people, are so boring and unpredictable that they cause no emotions, the statements of the emotional French parliamentarians raise a lot of questions.
Here is, for example, what Senator Valerie Boyer wrote on Facebook: "... After the Senate's vote for the recognition of Karabakh and our support to Armenia, we had the great honor to host Araik Harutyunyan, President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic today".
Senator Patrick Kanner also reported on the warm welcome extended to the perpetrator, "Met this afternoon with Nagorno-Karabakh President Harutyunyan. Faced with the ethnic cleansing carried out by the Azerbaijani occupation forces, together with (Senator) Bruno Retailleau, we reaffirmed our full support for respecting the sovereignty of this republic."
Harutyunyan also held a press conference in Paris, spoke to Agence France-Presse, and visited the France24 TV channel. The latter, by the way, belongs to the French government via its holding company France Мédias Monde, which did not prevent the management of the TV channel to put up a map behind the interviewed head of the bandit entity in which the Karabagh region of Azerbaijan was indicated as a separate international subject. Macron is dreaming about mediation between Baku and Yerevan. Well, there is no harm in dreaming.
In her turn, Azerbaijani Ambassador to France Leyla Abdullayeva condemned the TV channel's move.
In particular, Abdullayeva noted that France24 promotes separatism, violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, increases tension, and undermines peace efforts.
In general, this sketch does not look real - it is pure surrealism, blurred with tears of separatist activists aiming to portray Azerbaijanis as bloodthirsty and uncivilized thieves, with the hope to extort some money.
The very fact that French senators are courting an unrecognized self-appointed "president" does not promote the peaceful resolution of the conflict but rather the revanchist aspirations of Armenians. At the same time, official Paris has repeatedly declared its intention to mediate in the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations. But French senators' rhetoric shows that this country is in no hurry to contribute to the establishment of peace, but only wants to slow down and prolong the settlement process. The parliamentarians of the upper house of the National Assembly are further aggravating the situation with their biased statements. Instead of statements aimed at normalizing relations between Baku and Yerevan, they make provocative speeches that openly support Armenians.
But if the head of the Fifth Republic calls Azerbaijani Karabakh "disputed territory" without turning an eyelash, then what can we expect from lower-ranking French politicians? Emmanuel Macron was openly pro-Armenian both during the 44-day war and after Azerbaijan's unconditional victory. He tried to portray himself as a mediator at the Prague meeting, but ungrounded accusations against Azerbaijan only further exposed his pro-Armenian stance and desire to serve Armenian interests. Azerbaijan has not forgotten how during the Second Karabakh War Paris supported Armenia and its occupation policy, and the head of the French government tried to create a negative image of Azerbaijan through his ungrounded and false statements.
Undoubtedly, France, whose historical past is full of dark spots, uses Armenians to secure its interests in the South Caucasus. In fact, Paris has never been interested in resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict and simply nullified its role as a mediator in the Armenian-Azerbaijani issue, although Gallic roosters with a rather negative reputation and a bloody past to this day try to prove that they can act as mediators in the dialogue between Baku and Yerevan. However, Azerbaijan has long known that under the guise of so-called European values, Cézanne's homeland is pursuing its own interests.
One way or another, France's biased position has no effect. Anti-Azerbaijani speeches at various forums and platforms, all sorts of similar resolutions, and attempts to pressure Azerbaijan not only do not bring any results but also thoroughly damage the already flawed reputation of the French.
Karabakh separatists led by Araik Harutyunyan should finally understand that appeals and cries cannot affect Azerbaijan's determination. The only way Paris can support the Armenian occupiers is with new pantaloons, which will be very useful for them by the end of the year.