Crazy Macro Mania on: the whole truth about relations between Baku and Paris

President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev gave an interview to Azerbaijani TV channels. Such interviews have become a tradition at the beginning of the year. They are the main source of information for the citizens of the country and for all interested parties about Baku's position on various issues, how the head of state sees the future and how he approaches solving the pressing problems of today's geopolitics and geo-economics.

The recent "festive" attacks by French President Macron on Azerbaijan identified one of the topics that journalists raised during an interview with the head of state. The French president has once again shown that he suffers from a kind of mania close to insanity.

A lot is becoming clear from President Ilham Aliyev's answers, but this is the first time we have learned about some of them.

The Head of State stressed that Azerbaijan has nothing to share with France, our country has no claims against it. The only thing we need is for Paris not to interfere in our affairs. Azerbaijan does not need advice and guidance. He makes all the decisions himself and develops his own position on certain issues. And France's intervention, as practice shows, always only spoils the case, and then it fails. Wherever Macron appears, everywhere, as the President of Azerbaijan said, he carries only intrigues. This is also the case in the so-called "overseas territories" of France. Macron's failures in Africa are particularly sensitive and humiliating because African countries have literally kicked France out of their territories. Nigeria, Senegal, Chad, and Côte d'Ivoire demanded the withdrawal of French military forces, and no matter how Paris resisted, this process has already begun.  

Or take Armenia. Having come under the influence of Paris, Yerevan withdrew from the orbit of the peace process, which had barely begun to improve after the 44-day war. Macro intervened, and everything collapsed. The fifth year has passed since the defeat of Armenia, and the peace treaty has not yet been concluded. Armenia is under the full control of the current French authorities, and it is not noticeable that this would bring any benefit to it.

As the head of state noted in an interview, France is doing the same in relation to Georgia.

"The attempt to destabilize Georgia is obviously no secret to anyone, it was done so undiplomatically and publicly, which is even surprising for a country with such diplomatic traditions," President Ilham Aliyev said.

Both the French president and his officials look pathetic, trying to tell other countries how to live their lives. This is how people who naively think that no one sees their own sins written on their foreheads should look.

At a recent meeting with the ambassadors, Emmanuel Macron, whose presidency in his own country is hanging by a thread, could not resist meddling in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan. This politician, apparently, even dreams about Azerbaijan in his sleep, our country occupies his thoughts and every waking minute.

"As for France, everyone can see what is happening in the political arena there now. Yesterday, the French president again made absurd accusations against Azerbaijan. It seems that Mr. Macron cannot live without Azerbaijan. He is haunted by some kind of mania and he wants to blame all his sins on us. I believe that if we have become so strong that we are able to interfere in the internal affairs of France and change something, then we can only be proud of it. In fact, this statement is an admission of one's own helplessness. The president of the country he calls great turns out to be suffering from the actions of a country with a population of 10 million located far away in the Caucasus region. Despite the fact that we don't care about the internal affairs of this France. It was just an abnormal approach and an inadequate policy that led to this," President Ilham Aliyev ironically remarked in an interview.

Macron, this pathetic politician thought he looked significant, but in fact once again admitted his impotence in the face of the changes taking place on the world stage. Yes, everything is changing, there are no longer one or even two centers of power in the world, accents are shifting, new trends are emerging. Instead of analyzing the situation and drawing the right conclusions from it, Macron tried to speak down to Baku in a commanding tone, confusing Azerbaijan with one of his colonies. And it paid off for him.

However, Azerbaijan is not to blame for Macron's failure as a politician, as president and as a person. His own political short-sightedness and unwillingness to accept changes in which his Napoleonic ways no longer have a place are to blame.

Speaking about the reasons for the breakdown of relations between Baku and Paris, President Ilham Aliyev noted a number of factors. These are Islamophobia, Armenian influence, xenophobia, the personal approach of the French side, and so on.

"I think another factor here is the political immaturity of the French leadership. After all, I had the opportunity to work and communicate with three French presidents before Mr. Macron, and relations between our countries have always developed very successfully. If we take the EU member states, probably, in that period before the current government, these were the most active relations, both political, mutual visits, economic, and cultural. We had sister city relations with 13 French cities. There were so many cultural events," the head of state reminded, advising his French counterpart not to try to drag France down to its level.

Note that Macron is extremely unpopular in his country. He is the most unpopular president of France, whose departure is dreamed of by most of the country's citizens. However, he is not leaving, despite the fact that the political crisis is approaching its peak. Last year, France changed its prime minister several times. And no one guarantees that the newly appointed prime minister will not follow his predecessors by doing something that other political forces will not like. This is an unheard-of situation that speaks not just of a crisis, but of an acute crisis that requires immediate resolution. Meanwhile, President Macron is poking his nose into the affairs of other countries where no one needs his advice.

However, President Ilham Aliyev has made it clear that he is not deluded by the possibilities of changes for the better after the change of power in France. Because there is a consensus in the French political sphere on the issue of Azerbaijanophobia. Unfortunately, not only the current government, but also those who claim to be in power, are not particularly different from each other, the President said.

Paradoxically, many in the ruling circles of France perceived Azerbaijan's victory in the war as their defeat. Although they had no reason to think so, and there could not be.  

During the interview, the head of state revealed a number of interesting points that had not been mentioned before. Now that Paris has tried to spoil relations with Baku to the point of impossibility, the Azerbaijani President no longer considers it necessary to remain silent about these issues for reasons of diplomatic correctness.

"During the 44-day war, I don't remember how many times - six or seven, I received calls from the French President trying to stop the liberation struggle. Well, after that there were attempts of threats, there were threats to recognize "Nagorno-Karabakh". Now that our relationship has sunk below the ground floor, I can say that. But I replied that any country that recognizes the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh" after November 2020 would immediately receive a note from us about severing diplomatic relations. That was my answer. And immediately, the topic of recognizing the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh" dropped off the agenda. As they say, they went the other way, they recognized it through the Senate, through parliament, and then they made excuses for a long time that the authorities had nothing to do with it," Ilham Aliyev said.

The President stressed that he always kept these thoughts to himself and never allowed himself to show a negative attitude towards those who deserved it. It's one hundred percent true. Everyone remembers how long official Baku did not respond to the attacks of the Macron government. Many did not understand why Baku did not give an equivalent response to boorish and provocative statements from Paris. Why? In the interests of bilateral relations, we expect that the other side will begin to understand the unacceptability and illegality of their behavior. However, now that relations have dropped below the baseboard thanks to Paris, it's really not worth keeping silent anymore.

Interesting things happened not only during the 44-day war, but also after it. Answering questions from journalists, President Ilham Aliyev said that over the past few months Baku has received signals from representatives of the French government to establish contacts. There were several such signals coming from various French people to various representatives of Azerbaijan. And the answer was always, "We're ready."

"Yes, we are ready today, but we will not go anywhere - neither to Paris, nor to Brussels. If you need to meet with us, you can meet here, in Baku. Every time at some stage, then again there is a vacuum, silence. Now, recently, another such diplomatic dispatch, let's say a verbal one, was received: to talk again, to discuss. Again, we are ready, we have nothing to share with them, we have no complaints, as they say, against this country," Ilham Aliyev said.

The following conclusions can be drawn from what the head of state said: having failed to break and subjugate Azerbaijan, France began to look for ways to restore relations. Being on bad terms with the main country in the region is inexcusable for any actor trying to occupy at least some niche here. As we have already noted, everything is changing, and we need to build policy in such a way that we do not find ourselves on the sidelines when changes begin. France lost the South Caucasus thanks to the stupid and short-sighted policy of Emmanuel Macron, spoiling relations with Baku and now with Tbilisi. Now she is trying to probe the ground through various channels in search of an opportunity to win back everything. That is, to restore good relations with Azerbaijan without losing face.  In Paris, they want it to look like Baku is seeking French attention and reconciliation, and not the Fifth Republic. But, again, they do not take into account the geopolitical changes. Today's Azerbaijan is not the country that everyone knew before 2020. It has moved into the category of medium-strength countries, raised its status on the world stage, and Macron will have to take this into account.

In Paris, they realized that the tools that worked in Armenia are not applicable to Azerbaijan. Baku recognizes only equal and partnership relations, and interaction in the style of "suzerain-vassal" is unacceptable for it. It was like that before, but now it's not worth trying. Such relations are wonderful and harmonious for Yerevan, which is used to always being with someone. Armenia is a country that is driven and incapable of taking sovereign steps. Macron made a bet on her and lost. It was not possible to establish oneself in the region through Armenia.

And Armenia itself has only lost thanks to the intervention of Macron's France. And he keeps losing. Because in Yerevan, they also don't understand how much everything has changed and continues to change. As the President of Azerbaijan said, "their close friends are leaving the political arena in disgrace." The other day it became known about the resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Everyone knows the pro-Armenian position of this politician. Macron's departure is just around the corner. And although, as Ilham Aliyev emphasized, the French political forces have a consensus on the anti-Azerbaijani issue, I think the next government will be more careful in demonstrating unhealthy love for Armenia, so as not to step on Macron's rake. The Biden administration is also leaving, under whose leadership Western intervention was carried out in the region and the peace process was stopped.  And even in the Middle East, Armenia has lost an ally in Bashar al-Assad, who fled Syria.  

What remains for Armenia in this situation? As President Ilham Aliyev advises, "let him take the right step."

And France will not help Armenia in any way. Let them see in Yerevan how she solves the problems of Mayotte and eliminates the consequences of the monstrous hurricane. Armenia doesn't need any France, but it needs Azerbaijan. But there should be no ghosts between Yerevan and Baku. And the Armenian side, however, as well as the French side, could not help but hear this in an interview with the President of Azerbaijan.