Russian President Vladimir Putin ruled this Friday that his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, does not understand the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, in response to the latter’s statements that accused Moscow of seeking to destabilize the Caucasus.
“I think there is a lack of understanding of the course of the conflict in these statements and, obviously, of information from France about the position of the parties,” the Russian leader said.
Speaking at a summit of the countries of the former USSR in Astana, Kazakhstan, he added that Emmanuel Macron’s comments were “incorrect” and “unacceptable”.
Macron accuses Moscow of wanting to “weaken Armenia”
These remarks come as Moscow, mired in its offensive in Ukraine, has lost influence in the Caucasus in recent months to the benefit of Westerners, a region where Moscow historically plays the role of arbiter.
During an interview, Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday: “Russia interfered in this conflict, obviously played Azerbaijan’s game with the complicity of Turkey and went back there to weaken Armenia.”
“It is a maneuver to destabilize Russia which, in the Caucasus, seeks to create disorder to weaken and divide us all,” he said.
He also assured that France “will never let go” of the Armenians and stated that Azerbaijan had launched “a terrible war” in 2020 to retake Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as “offensives” in September on the official border between the two countries.
Azerbaijan condemns Macron’s comments
On Friday, Azerbaijani diplomacy criticized Emmanuel Macron’s “unacceptable” and “biased” statements.
Vladimir Putin has said he will discuss the issue with the French president again “if the opportunity arises.” He also invited Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to meet in Russia.
“Russia has always sincerely sought to resolve conflicts, including Karabakh-related issues,” Vladimir Putin said.
A conflict that is not new between Armenia and Azerbaijan
At the same time, the head of the Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, and his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts, Ararat Mirzoian and Djeïhoun Baïramov, met on the same day in Astana to negotiate. Russian diplomacy said the trio spoke of “joint efforts” to normalize relations between Yerevan and Baku.
Armenia, an ally of Russia, and Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, have fought two wars over the past three decades for control of Nagorno-Karabakh, a majority-Armenian enclave.
The last war, in the fall of 2020, left 6,500 dead and ended with a ceasefire brokered by Moscow, which deployed a contingent of peacekeepers to the scene.
A still unstable situation in the region
But in recent months, the European Union and the United States have taken the lead in talks to broker a peace treaty, while Russia has locked in on its military intervention in Ukraine.
On October 6, in Prague, negotiations took place in particular between Nikol Pashinian, Ilham Aliev, Emmanuel Macron and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel.
Despite these attempts at Western mediation, the situation remains unstable. In September, at least 286 people were killed in renewed clashes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.
Source: BFM TV
