Valerie Pecresse, a conservative politician emerging as French President Emmanuel Macron’s main challenger in a forthcoming presidential election, visited Karabakh and met with the territory’s ethnic Armenian leaders on December 22. She was accompanied by former French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier and Senator Bruno Retailleau of the opposition Les Republicains party that nominated her for the presidency.
The Azerbaijani government condemned the trip as a violation of “Azerbaijan’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
Aliyev went further last week, saying that Azerbaijani authorities would have prevented Pecresse from returning to France if they had prior knowledge of her arrival in Karabakh. He also criticized Russian peacekeepers stationed in Karabakh for allowing Pecresse to enter the Armenian-populated territory.
Pecresse, who heads the Ile de France region of greater Paris, and many lawmakers representing her party expressed outrage at Aliyev’s “threats” and criticized the French government for not swiftly reacting to them.
GREECE - French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian attends a news conference following his meeting with Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias in Athens, November 19, 2021.
One of those lawmakers, Eric Ciotti, deplored the government’s “deafening silence” during its question-and-answer session in the French National Assembly on Tuesday.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian responded by saying that Aliyev’s comments are “unacceptable in form and substance.” He said he has made this clear to Azerbaijan’s ambassador in Paris.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry was quick to reject the criticism and accuse Le Drian of breaching “diplomatic ethics.” A ministry spokeswoman defended Aliyev’s remarks, saying that “illegal visits to Azerbaijani territory” are a criminal offense and must be dealt with accordingly.
Pecresse travelled to Karabakh from Armenia where she met with President Armen Sarkissian, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan and Catholicos Garegin II, the supreme head of the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Armenia - Armenian President Armen Sarkissian meets with Valerie Pecresse, a Fench presidential candidate and head of Ile de France region, December 21, 2021.
“In Armenia, a brotherly country for France, I come to plead for the return of peace in Nagorno-Karabakh and the strengthening of French support in the economic and cultural areas and protection of religious heritage,” Pecresse tweeted before flying back to Paris on December 23.
Another French presidential candidate, controversial far-right figure Eric Zemmour, visited Armenia earlier in December.
France is home to an influential Armenian community. It was instrumental in the December 2020 passage by both houses of the French parliament of resolutions calling on Macron’s government to recognize Karabakh as an independent republic.