Azerbaijan decided on Tuesday to expel two French diplomats for activities “incompatible with their status.” This step came in light of tense relations between the two countries, as Baku accuses France of siding with Armenia in peace talks with its arch-rival, with European mediation.
Published on: 12/26/2023 – 14:53
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Expelled Azerbaijan On Tuesday, two French diplomats were arrested for activities “incompatible with their status,” in the context of tensions between the two countries over Paris’s support for Armenia.
French Ambassador Anne Bouillon was summoned to the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform her of “a strong protest against the actions of two employees of the French Embassy in conflict with their diplomatic status,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that these two diplomats must leave Azerbaijan within 48 hours.
This step came in light of tense relations between the two countries, as Baku accuses France of siding with Armenia in peace talks with its arch-rival, with European mediation.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused France in November of inciting conflicts in the Caucasus by arming Armenia.
Azerbaijan and Armenia fought two wars over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Baku regained this enclave in September, after a lightning attack against Armenian separatists who had controlled it for three decades.
Armenia and Azerbaijan said that a comprehensive peace agreement could be signed by the end of the year, but internationally mediated negotiations between the two former Soviet republics have made little progress.
“biased” position
Aliyev and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met on several occasions for talks mediated by the European Union.
But in October, Aliyev refused to attend negotiations with Pashinyan in Spain, because of what he described as “France’s biased position.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were scheduled to mediate the talks, along with European Council President Charles Michel.
France is home to a large number of Armenians, and Azerbaijan routinely accuses it of bias in favor of Armenians in the regional conflict between the two Caucasus countries.
France 24/AFP
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2023-12-26 13:53:56
