France has continued activities that undermine the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace process, including espionage and information campaigns targeting Baku, according to Azerbaijan’s State Commission Against Foreign Interference and Hybrid Threats.
In a statement published on Wednesday, the Commission said it had concluded that positions advanced by France on the global stage, together with patterns in the French media and other activities, amounted to “hybrid threats”.
“[The] unilateral positions voiced in international institutions, and the ongoing trends in the French media and judicial system give reason to say that these threats are designed to interfere in Azerbaijan's internal affairs, influence its foreign policy course, weaken its position in the international arena, and destabilise the region,” the Commission said.
The Commission said France had intensified its activities following Azerbaijan’s victory in the Second Garabagh War in 2020. It argued that these actions went beyond traditional diplomacy and were instead aimed at securing Paris’s “interests in the region contrary to international law”.
The Commission identified a number of activities pursued by France that it considers to be hybrid threats.
These include resolutions adopted by the French Parliament since November 2020, which it said undermined Azerbaijan’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
The Commission said the decisions served to “form a negative image of our country in the international arena, weaken our legitimate position, and create artificial tension instead of contributing to peace and stability in the region”.
It also said France had pushed for the adoption of decisions “contrary to the interests of Azerbaijan” in international institutions, including the United Nations and the European Union, as well as their associated agencies.
“These steps were taken with the aim of isolating, discrediting and excluding our country from certain international cooperation frameworks, despite its actions in accordance with international law,” the Commission said.
The Commission went on to criticise France for supporting “radical individuals” who had settled in France “under the guise of political asylum,” and for funding NGOs and other organisations which conduct “large-scale campaigns against Azerbaijan” on online platforms.
It also accused France of illegal espionage activities in Azerbaijan and condemned the country’s "active transfer of weapons to Armenia” and support for the European Union Mission in Armenia, which it said was “mainly engaged in intelligence activities in the region.”
The Commission continues to take countermeasures to "neutralise" the impact of French hybrid threats, in coordination with relevant state agencies, it added.
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