Are French intelligence services forming another anti-Azerbaijani network?

By Zulfugar Ibrahimov, Day.az

A large anti-Azerbaijani gathering will take place in Paris at the end of June. It will be organized at the National Institute of Oriental Languages ??and Cultures (Institut national des langues et civilizations orientales, INALCO). The organizers are employees of this institution with Armenian surnames and Armenian organizations in France. Last November, a pseudoscientific event on the topic “Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, past-present” was held at the INALCO Research House, which so inspired the relevant circles that it was decided to gather the pro-Armenian crowd again this June. While peace talks are ongoing, INALCO will host "international learning days" where participants will "reflect on the political, economic, sociological, cultural and geopolitical issues and consequences of the last war," the release states. This refers to the period from the war of 2020 to the anti-terrorist operation of September 2023, that is, until Azerbaijan completely restores its territories.

In principle, it is during the period of peace negotiations that third parties should not try to add their two cents to the process, even by organizing seemingly innocuous scientific discussions. Although the “international training days” planned at INALCO cannot even be called harmless. The Armenian element occupies a significant place in this institution. In previous years, the Azerbaijani language was also studied here with financial support from Baku. The study of this language, which was once spoken throughout the Caucasus, began in 1999, was carried out for several years at the expense of the French state, and then funding was transferred to the Azerbaijani side. Yes, once upon a time, before Emmanuel Macron and before the 44-day war, relations between Baku and Paris were very good. I can't even believe that this happened...

The current National Institute of Oriental Languages ??and Cultures was created in the 17th century to train translators capable of working in the fields of diplomacy and trade. Initially, the Armenian language was not studied there, since they did not have a state, were not of interest, and also did not play any role in world trade. Their “potential” was noticed and appreciated only when the powers moved into the Caucasus. And today the Armenians consider France their headquarters, including in terms of promoting their “enlightenment” narratives. It is unlikely that INALCO would have been able to hold an event that would be contrary to the interests of the Armenians. Especially in Macron’s France.  

Over time, INALCO expanded its functions and today, according to some information, is training specialists, let’s say, of a broader profile. This is a government agency closely linked to the French Foreign Ministry and intelligence. Here, roughly speaking, spies are trained. This is where intelligence officers study languages ??or improve their knowledge before being sent out to work. INALCO, It sounds like the script for another episode of Fantômas, but this is reality. And the dominance of the harmful Armenian element in the establishment poses a certain threat to the South Caucasus.   

Pseudo-scientific discussions later this month will show just how bad things are. In principle, this can be judged by the event program already distributed on the Internet. The list of participants with surnames ending in “Yan” is also diluted with other persons who, in principle, could safely add Armenian endings to their surnames. After watching the program, more than once I want to exclaim: wow, all the faces are familiar!

For example, Jean-Christov Buisson, deputy director of the newspaper Le Figaro, is an ardent Azerbaijanophobe. What would it be like without him? This journalist has been working for the Armenians for a long time and fruitfully. Fruitful, including for yourself. His latest masterpiece is an interview with separatist Shahramanyan, introduced to readers as the “president of Artsakh.”

And here is another familiar name - Altay Goyushov. This so-called historian, representing a certain “Baku Research Institute” (has anyone heard of such an institution?) will speak at a pro-Armenian event about “the impact of the war in Garabagh on the transformation of the Azerbaijani internal political landscape.” Western pro-Armenian propaganda greatly values ??this “historian” and always invites only him to discussions. Still would.

And here is Jacques Faure, the former French co-chair of the late OSCE Minsk Group. This subject is particularly interesting. His co-chairmanship was unsuccessful. After his resignation, he continued to set France up. In 2015, at a NATO event in Yerevan, he said so much that the French Foreign Ministry had to make excuses for him and assure Baku that Jacques Faure was nothing, an ordinary pensioner, and Paris recognized the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

In Yerevan, Faure said that military pressure on Armenia would not yield anything, that the return of Karabakh to Azerbaijan was “from now on impossible,” and that the result “must be expressed through free expression of will.” At the same event, he spoke about Baku’s pressure on the OSCE and the threat of closing the organization’s office in Azerbaijan. I wonder what he would say today, hearing statements that official Baku will not allow the Minsk Group to work under any circumstances and it is better for it to cease to exist.

None of Faure's "expert forecasts" came true. And today all he can do is appear at pro-Armenian gatherings and read reports on the failures of the Minsk Group from the “looking back” series.

In short, there is no need to talk about the scientific nature and scientific value of the event planned at INALCO. A scientific approach to the Karabakh conflict will be possible only decades later, when passions subside and the provocative activities of the pro-Armenian camp cease to be in full swing. At present, attempts to give such an event a certain scientific flair look frivolous. Pseudo-scientific fuss covers up completely different goals and intentions. It is clear from everything that another anti-Azerbaijani network is being formed under INALCO.

But these efforts are in vain - they will not change anything either from the point of view of the interests of the Armenians or from the point of view of the strength of Azerbaijan’s international position.