Immoral silence: our grief and the true face of European politicians

France, represented by its president Emmanuel Macron and almost the entire political elite of the country, as well as members of the European Parliament (primarily from Macron's France), and the EU leadership, once again failed the test of humanity. I am writing about this after witnessing the shameful and immoral silence of nearly the entire political establishment from France and these organizations in response to the tragic crash of an Embraer aircraft operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, which was en route from Baku to Grozny and crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau.

There were 67 people on board the plane, including 42 citizens of Azerbaijan, 16 from Russia, 6 from Kazakhstan, and 3 from Kyrgyzstan.

"The situation is not very good, 38 dead. The bodies are in poor condition, mostly burned. 29 people, including two children, are injured in hospitals, 11 of them are stable, the rest are in moderate condition," said Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev, who is currently in Aktau.

After this tragedy, we heard words of condolences from the President of fraternal Turkiye and a large number of Turkish politicians. We also heard words of sympathy from the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Georgia, Moldova, Iran, and Israel, as well as from the Foreign Ministries of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Egypt, along with a number of international organizations.

However, there was not a word of condolence from many leaders of countries that call themselves friendly or even allied with Azerbaijan. This is not surprising, but what is especially disappointing is the complete lack of condolences from French President Emmanuel Macron (it is already clear what his stance is from a political and moral perspective) and from almost the entire French political establishment, if I may call it that.

None of the leaders of French political parties found the moral courage to say what any decent person would say in the face of a tragedy. Only one member of the French Senate, Nathalie Goulet, expressed her condolences to the victims of the Baku-Grozny flight. The others pretended as though nothing terrible had happened.

Naturally, the French members of the European Parliament remained silent as well. They, like almost all French politicians, are focused solely on spreading falsehoods about our country, trying to discredit our state. Uttering words of sympathy or condolence would be a form of torture for them. The same can be said about the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. She too remained silent at a time when any decent person should have spoken out.

Not a word of compassion or sympathy from this frau! Although, when the EU urgently needed supplies of Azerbaijani gas, she rushed to sign the relevant agreement and made several statements about our country's irreplaceable role in ensuring the energy security of the Old World. But writing at least a short message on social media expressing condolences for the tragic loss of passengers on the Baku-Grozny flight should have been a minimal gesture. Yet, there was nothing...

The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaya Kallas, also remained silent. Does this mean she followed in the footsteps of her predecessor, Josep Borrell, who was notorious for his biased and contemptuous attitude towards Azerbaijan? It is too early to judge fully, but Kallas' unwillingness to express sympathy for the victims of the plane crash is a fact and already an indelible stain on her biography.

As you know, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed his condolences over the crash of the Baku-Grozny flight.

"I express my condolences to the families of the victims of the Baku-Grozny flight. The tragedy that befell people living their daily lives cannot but cause sadness," he wrote on his social media page.

It turns out that even he has more humanity than all these so-called ladies and gentlemen.

Azerbaijan has experienced many tragic events and triumphs over the years of its independence. We have managed to become a strong state and have shown the world a unique example of restoring our territorial integrity through military and political means, defying the plans of the leading world powers. We have built the most economically powerful state with an army that ranks among the top 30 strongest in the world. We have implemented truly historic transport and energy projects. All of this was achieved primarily through self-reliance. But we will always remember both those who were ready to lend a helping hand and those who kept a stone in their chest. This will be the case as a result of the current tragedy.