Azerbaijan and France have expressed willingness to end years of political tensions stemming from Elysee's support for Armenia and starting a new phase in relations.
“A new page has opened in relations between Azerbaijan and France,”Sophie Lagoutte said while presenting her credentials to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on October 17. She pledged to do her utmost to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries. In response, Aliyev stated that “the issues that previously caused misunderstanding between Azerbaijan and France are now in the past," adding that this became possible after his meeting with President Emmanuel Macron in Copenhagen on October 3. He noted that the two countries are entering a period of renewed cooperation - including interpersonal, business, and cultural exchanges.
Reflecting on his meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Copenhagen, President Ilham Aliyev noted that the discussions helped clear up previous misunderstandings between the two nations. He emphasized that this marked the beginning of a new phase in bilateral relations and underscored the significance of rebuilding and expanding ties between citizens and business communities, along with strengthening collaboration in cultural and humanitarian areas.
Azerbaijan's ties with France have been improving recently against the backdrop of the signing of an initial peace declaration with Armenia in early August that ended the thirty-year-war. French President Emmanuel Macron congratulated Aliyev on the signing of the US-brokered peace deal during a one-on-one meeting in Copenhagen. The details of the Aliyev-Macron meeting have not been revealed, with the state media only stating that the two leaders ‘exchanged views on the current state and future prospects of relations’ between their respective countries. Responding to the reporters' questions after the meeting, Macron said France "fully supported" the peace agreement, adding that he hoped "we will have a full-fledged signature [between Armenia and Azerbaijan] with all the different steps toward the total normalisation in the region and total normalisation with the other neighbours."
France is Armenia's supporter in the European Union and has repeatedly backed Armenia's position in the war with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh region.
