Azerbaijan President pledges to support independence of French overseas territories

Europe, News July 23, 2024 , by IRIA No Comments

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has pledged to support the independence movements of France’s overseas territories, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing diplomatic tensions between Azerbaijan and France.

The latest remarks from Aliyev come against a backdrop of historical and geopolitical conflicts, particularly concerning the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh and France’s perceived involvement in Caucasian affairs.

President Aliyev’s recent comments were made during a media forum just days before the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris and shortly after Baku hosted a congress of pro-independence groups from various French territories. Aliyev pointed to France’s colonial past and present in his speech, highlighting territories such as New Caledonia, Mayotte, and the Comoros Islands.

“We will support you until you are free,” Aliyev stated, addressing the forum, and criticizing what he called the “revolting remnant from the past” of colonialism.

Historical context

Nagorno-Karabakh, a region internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, has been a flashpoint of conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia for decades. The region’s predominantly ethnic Armenian population declared independence from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s, leading to two major wars and countless skirmishes. The most recent conflict in 2020 resulted in significant territorial gains for Azerbaijan but left the status of Nagorno-Karabakh unresolved.

^{In this photo, an Armenian soldier fires an artillery piece during fighting with Azerbaijan’s forces in the Nagorno-Karabakh region in Azerbaijan. (Image Credit: Press office of Armenian Defense Ministry/via AP)}

France has been a vocal supporter of Armenia, providing humanitarian aid and voicing concerns over Azerbaijan’s military actions. This support has not gone unnoticed by Baku, which views Paris’s involvement as undue interference. The strained relations have led to a tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats and a series of diplomatic rebukes.

In December 2023, Azerbaijan expelled two French diplomats, an act reciprocated by France. The diplomatic expulsions and public war of words reflect the deep mistrust and competing interests that characterize Azerbaijan-France relations.

Diplomatic tensions

Earlier this week, a Baku-hosted congress featured pro-independence groups from New Caledonia, Corsica, and Caribbean and Pacific islands. French media reports indicated that the participants criticized French authorities, and an invitation was extended to an Azerbaijani delegation to visit New Caledonia. This congress underscores Baku’s strategic use of such platforms to amplify its geopolitical narrative against France.

Azerbaijani leaders repeatedly highlighted the issues related to New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific experiencing significant political unrest as indigenous Kanak activists have been protesting a controversial electoral reform, leading to weeks of violence.

The situation has provided a pretext for Azerbaijan to position itself as a champion of anti-colonial movements, drawing attention to France’s challenges in maintaining order in its overseas territories.

French response

The French government has accused Azerbaijan of meddling in New Caledonia by allegedly disseminating misleading information on social media to incite unrest. These allegations include the distribution of photos and videos purportedly depicting French police brutality, aimed at undermining France’s position in the territory.

A protester in New Caledonia brandishes Azerbaijan's national flag alongside a Kanak independence flag — *^{A protester in New Caledonia brandishes Azerbaijan’s national flag alongside a Kanak independence flag at protests in Noumea, on May 16, 2024. (Image Credit: AFP/via X)}*

Azerbaijan has denied these accusations, maintaining that its support for independence movements is based on principles of self-determination and anti-colonialism.

Baku has long accused Paris of bias towards Armenia, particularly in the context of the ongoing efforts to negotiate a peace treaty to end the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict definitively. The defense contracts signed between France and Armenia further fuel Azerbaijani claims of partiality.