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Shocking blow from Baku to Paris - why did Azerbaijan declare French diplomats “persona non grata”? -ANALYTICS

27 December 2023 07:41 (UTC +04:00)

Diplomats have immunity in the countries where they work and cannot be prosecuted under local laws. But the country in which the diplomatic mission operates can expel law-breaking diplomats whose activities do not correspond to their diplomatic status, caught red-handed at the scene of a crime, and, in diplomatic parlance, declare them “persona non grata” (translated from Latin "undesirable person")

Today, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry declared two employees of the French Embassy “persona non grata” for their activities that do not correspond to their diplomatic status and contradict the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.

A note about this was handed to the French Ambassador Anne Boyon, who was summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan. These persons must leave the territory of Azerbaijan within 48 hours. This incident is important not only from a diplomatic, political and military point of view, but also from a regional security point of view.

First of all, it should be noted that France has sought to take its place in the new geopolitical configuration that has emerged in the South Caucasus in recent years, especially after Azerbaijan’s victory in the Patriotic War in 2020. At first, Paris tried to spread its influence in the region through political and diplomatic means, to become one of the arbiter countries that would help normalize relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. But the fact that French leader Emmanuel Macron, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and other officials took a biased position on the Karabakh issue, made false accusations against official Baku and praised Yerevan, revealed the real picture.

On the other hand, there were attempts by France to achieve the adoption of resolutions directed against Azerbaijan in the UN Security Council. However, these efforts did not receive any support and the issue remained at the discussion stage. Under these conditions, France’s chances of mediating between Azerbaijan and Armenia were zero. Of course, the Pashinyan government was interested in strengthening France’s influence in the region by any means, and in ensuring that, in addition to the European Union, France would participate in the negotiations as a mediator as a fourth party. But official Baku managed to prevent these attempts. Azerbaijan blocked France's participation in the normalization process due to its biased position, thwarted its attempt to gain a foothold in the South Caucasus and reminded Paris of its colonial image, which it has not yet managed to shake off.

Now it becomes clear that France, having failed on the political-diplomatic front against Azerbaijan and having lost its influence in the South Caucasus, is resorting to military-intelligence methods under the guise of diplomacy. The goal was to obtain information about regional events and political processes through intelligence and use it in the political arena.

On December 21, a wide agent network of French intelligence services was exposed in Azerbaijan, participating in various operations in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and a number of countries in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia. A number of individuals carrying out intelligence activities related to Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan have been arrested, and some have come under investigation in a criminal case being investigated by the Azerbaijani intelligence services.

This was the biggest failure of French intelligence in recent years and another professional victory for the Azerbaijani intelligence services. As the exposure of the spy network showed, the insidious policy of official Paris was directed not only against Azerbaijan, but also against many other countries on a regional scale. The announcement today of two French diplomats as “persona non grata” is most likely directly related to this event. In connection with the receipt of facts and evidence related to the French residency, during that operation, Azerbaijan was able to easily expose representatives of the special services who introduced themselves at the embassy as representatives of the diplomatic corps.

Let us recall that Western media linked President Macron’s dismissal of the head of the French General Directorate of External Security (DGSE), Bernard Emiens, with this successful operation of the Azerbaijani special services.

Thus, if we state the facts, then France’s attempts to obtain geopolitical dividends in the South Caucasus have failed. Attempts at sanctions and pressure on Azerbaijan through the UN Security Council, the European Union and other platforms mean a diplomatic fiasco for Paris, and the exclusion of France from participation in the Azerbaijani-Armenian normalization indicates the failure of the regional policy of this country. The exposure of the French spy network by the Azerbaijani special services means the failure of France in the intelligence area.

The international conference in Baku, which exposed French colonialism and stimulated the rise of many oppressed peoples to struggle, calls into question the place and role of France in global politics.

The listed facts give every reason to assert that at the level of leaders, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev won a victory over his French colleague Emmanuel Macron on the political stage.

On the other hand, France, due to a failed foreign policy course, quickly lost its leverage over its last colonies in Africa - Niger, Gabon, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso and Mali, and an attempt to mediate in Russian-Ukrainian negotiations failed from the very beginning . Against this background, Azerbaijan’s ousting of France from the process of normalization with Armenia, the identification of an agent network, the declaration of French diplomats as “persona non grata” and their expulsion mean an undermining of the political authority of this country in the South Caucasus and its complete fiasco.

In this situation, the main party that should learn a lesson should be Armenia. Yerevan must realize that France has taken a position to prevent the signing of a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, is arming Armenia and is trying to revive revanchist sentiments. And this cannot bode well for Armenia. Armenia has no other way than to get out of the influence of France, the United States and other forces and enter into negotiations with Azerbaijan.