BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 20. The supply of artillery systems and other lethal and offensive weapons by France to Armenia, despite warnings from the Azerbaijani side, once again proves France's provocative activities in the South Caucasus region, Azerbaijani political analyst Azer Garayev told Trend.
According to him, recent media reports have indicated that a contract for the purchase and sale of Caesar self-propelled artillery systems has been signed between France and Armenia.
"Despite the French Ministry of Defense's statement last October that the military equipment supplied to Armenia is of a defensive nature, the arming of Armenia with lethal weapons under the current military deal is another display of the French leadership's hypocrisy.
Macron's regime, which conducts policies of militarization and geopolitical intrigue in the South Caucasus region, hinders the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan and the establishment of lasting peace in the region.
Due to this destructive and biased policy, the current leadership of France cannot forgive Azerbaijan for its exclusion from the normalization process and regional developments, and therefore it continues this policy," he pointed out.
Garayev emphasized that Armenia is a state that has committed military aggression and occupation against Azerbaijan.
He also mentioned that rearming Armenia, a country with a history of bloody military aggression, with the help of France, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, and supporting the Armenian leadership's policy of revanchism, leads to a new war and is tantamount to political irresponsibility.
"Historically, as a colonial empire, France has had extensive experience in creating hotspots of war and conflict in various parts of the world. The processes occurring in New Caledonia and other overseas colonial territories—the exploitation of indigenous peoples, the plundering of their natural resources, the alteration of the demographic composition of these territories due to racist policies, and the suppression of protests through bloodshed and armed force—are indicative of Macron's regime's nature.
Instead of addressing such radical problems and putting an end to neocolonialism, which is a remnant of a disgraceful colonial legacy, France conducts a dirty propaganda and disinformation campaign against Azerbaijan," he added.
To note, on June 18, the sale of the Caesar artillery system to Armenia was inked by French Defense Minister Sebastian Lecornu and his Armenian colleague Suren Papikyan. This concerns the procurement of 109 next-generation Caesar self-propelled artillery units.
Caesar artillery systems are produced by the French defense industrial company Nexter.
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