SHUSHA, Azerbaijan (Reuters) – Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev pledged to help France’s overseas territories secure independence. This move highlights the ongoing Azerbaijan French independence conflict. The latest in a series of incidents, it pits his ex-Soviet state against Paris over Caucasus disputes.
Aliyev accuses France of interfering in its affairs over its contacts with Armenia, against which it has waged two wars in 30 years linked to disputes over Baku’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
In recent months, Azerbaijani leaders have focused on France’s South Pacific territory of New Caledonia, gripped by weeks of violence over the objections of Indigenous Kanak activists to a contentious electoral reform. #AzerbaijanFrenchIndependence
Aliyev made his latest comments at a media forum days before the opening of the Olympic Games in Paris and just after the staging in Baku of a congress bringing together pro-independence groups from New Caledonia and other French territories.
“We will support you until you are free,” Aliyev told the forum, citing French territories that he said were still subject to colonialism.
“Some countries are still suffering from this. The Comoros islands, Mayotte are still under colonial rule. It has been our duty to help these countries liberate themselves from this revolting remnant from the past.”
Earlier this week, an “initiative group” staged a congress in Baku attended by pro-independence groups from New Caledonia and other French territories, including Corsica and Caribbean and Pacific islands.
French media accounts of the meeting said participants sharply criticised French authorities and an Azerbaijani delegation was invited to visit New Caledonia. #AzerbaijanFrenchIndependence
Furthermore, this move by President Ilham Aliyev reflects a broader strategy to influence global independence movements. Azerbaijan’s involvement highlights its stance on the Azerbaijan French independence conflict. As a result, it intensifies the geopolitical complexities in the region.
