BAKU, Azerbaijan, March 27. It's naive to believe France is ready to ensure the security of the South Caucasus, Spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said during a weekly briefing, Trend reports.
"If France had such opportunities, then this state would have applied them in those countries where Paris had contractual obligations. We have repeatedly talked about this. Moreover, it would have been convenient for them to do so, considering that they were there for decades, considering them as their colonies and even in the post-colonial period, they still preserved their interests there at the level of neocolonialism. The language is more familiar there, contacts and connections remained. Something failed," she explained.
According to Zakharova, France was obligated to do so in Africa, as it received money for it.
"Its work, its presence there was generously paid for. French missions in these countries failed miserably," she also said.
Besides, the official noted that the future of the South Caucasus is merely an instrument for Paris.
"It's just a bargaining chip, one of the ways to maintain its own prosperity and preserve its reputation, including against the backdrop of hybrid warfare with Russia and failures in Africa. France's presence in the South Caucasus region is an attempt to gather intelligence, monitor the states of the region, not allowing the peaceful agreements reached between our countries, including those of an economic nature, to materialize," Zakharova added.
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