October 9, 2023

Following the recent developments in Nagorno-Karabakh, Presidents Aliyev and Pashinyan were supposed to meet in Granada, Spain on October 5. Only days before the scheduled meeting, French Foreign Minister Colonna visited Yerevan where she said: “I would like to publicly state that France has agreed on future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defense.” You’ll understand that I can’t go into more detail at the moment.” A few days later, citing unnamed sources, Azerbaijani media said that Mr. Aliyev had decided against the Granada meeting after France and Germany allegedly objected to President Erdoğan’s participation in the talks. French promise to send arms to Armenia was only a knee-jerk reaction, a reflection of Paris’ colonial instincts during times of trouble in Africa. It undermines efforts to achieve peace. Should Paris be interested in peace-making somewhere, it can turn to Libya, a country that was completely devastated thanks to the Sarkozy-led intervention in violation of a UN Security Council Resolution.