Radioactive cargo to France through Azerbaijan What is the country's need for this?

France's nuclear power industry may turn out to be dependent on Azerbaijan's position on the issue of uranium supplies to this country from Central Asia. And if in recent years Paris has tried to infiltrate the South Caucasus region by all possible means – political and economic, ignoring the opinion and interests of our country, now Baku has to say its weighty word about the energy needs of the French. In any case, it is necessary to ask the question: do we need this and, in general, why should we help a country from which Azerbaijan has not seen anything but biased criticism and openly inimical insults lately?

France, meanwhile, is in a critical situation: the sharp decline in the uranium supply from Niger to the global market caused by the events in Niger has severely harmed France's needs, as more than 60 per cent of the country's energy is generated by nuclear power plants (NPPs). Niger, on the other hand, attributed its refusal to export this type of fuel to France to the political crisis in the country.

Of course, not only France, but also other EU countries, and indeed the world in general, that rely on nuclear power, found themselves in a force majeure situation. But it was Paris, which met about 40 per cent of its uranium needs through supplies from Niger, that was in the most difficult situation. And now it urgently needs to compensate for such a serious blow to its energy sector.

Meanwhile, France now has the most ambitious plans for the development of nuclear power: in the age of "green energy" it not only continues to build NPPs at home but also acts as a global contractor for the NPPs construction abroad, actively lobbying for this policy.

Now, when France finds itself in a difficult situation, Azerbaijan is the state whose opinion can influence the operation of French NPPs and, perhaps, the entire foreign nuclear marketing of Paris. The point is that Central Asia accounts for about 40 per cent of the world's uranium supplies, but due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, the supply route to Europe, including France, has been noticeably rearranged.

At present, Central Asian uranium goes exactly through the territory of Azerbaijan. And according to the latest information, it is this uranium that Paris is now relying on. Moreover, as far as is known, the current quota for uranium transportation through Azerbaijan is 4,000 tonnes, but now discussion is underway with Baku to increase it.

And how can we not ask ourselves again: why do we need this "French happiness"? Should Azerbaijan provide an opportunity to transport such dangerous cargo through its territory to help a country that pursues a blatantly anti-Azerbaijani policy and spreads malicious rumours about it all over the world, lobbies hard for the interests of Armenia and its separatist project? This is one of the reasons.

Another reason for Baku's polite refusal of nuclear transit, which is important for Paris, is that the country is actively developing "green energy", cooperating with the European Union. And this strategy fundamentally contradicts France's nuclear exports, which are fraught with global risks that humanity remembers well: the disasters of Chornobyl and Fukushima are still tangible and real, no matter how much its lobbyists speak in favour of the efficiency of nuclear energy.

Moreover, amid the EU's "green" course, it is France that is the odious black sheep preventing Europe from finally switching to "clean energy". For example, Germany, the EU's first largest economy, is among the most serious opponents of nuclear power. In 2021, Berlin closed three of the country's six remaining nuclear power plants. The other three were scheduled to close in the near future.

There is also a geopolitical implication. Now Paris is losing its last "nuclear market" - African countries. And a very important argument that causes serious concern to Baku is that Paris, along with some other Western countries, is going to launch the construction of so-called "small NPPs" in Armenia. Due to this French-Armenian cooperation at the Metsamor nuclear power plant, the Central Asian uranium processed by the French can get into this ill-fated plant, start it up, and thereby put our entire region under serious threat.

The plant's nuclear reactor has long failed to meet safety standards, but the main danger is Armenia's own seismic activity. An earthquake like the 1988 Spitak earthquake could easily turn this nuclear facility, which is falling apart before our eyes, into a second Chornobyl. The same fate, by the way, threatens the nuclear power plants that France dreams of erecting in Armenia, without thinking at all about the consequences and the impact on the ecology of the region as a result of an earthquake that even a small accident or natural cataclysm can lead to.

So, Azerbaijan has more than enough categorical "buts" to all French ambitions. And Azerbaijan must now, of course, express a firm position on the issue of the transit of uranium through its territory. We are no help to the French in this matter.