BAKU, Azerbaijan, January 7. On January 7, during an interview with local television channels, President Ilham Aliyev brought up an issue regarding France that had never been discussed before.
“I think it will help somehow get out of the crisis. Over the past few months, we have been receiving signals from representatives of the French government to establish contacts – I remember there have been three or four of them – from different personalities to our different representatives, and the answer has always been, “We are ready”. Yes, we are ready today, but we will not go anywhere, neither to Paris nor to Brussels. If you need to meet with us, you can meet with us here in Baku,” said the Azerbaijani leader.
The President noted that there was recently another diplomatic dispatch to talk and discuss.
"There was recently another diplomatic dispatch, let's say a verbal one: to talk and discuss. Again, we are ready, we have nothing to dispute with them, we have no claims to this country. The main thing is that they do not touch us, do not interfere in our affairs and do not interfere in the affairs of the South Caucasus. This is already a demand we are articulating quite clearly. Because wherever the French authorities interfere, first of all, they fail shamefully, and secondly, they only introduce intrigue. Nothing but intrigue. There is no point in talking about Africa, everything is in plain sight, as they say. The same applies to the South Caucasus. In Azerbaijan, their presence is practically reduced to zero, except for some companies that have a long-term contract. And we always respect all our obligations, so we have never extrapolated political difficulties to the operations of companies. The French companies still operating here should not be blamed for having such a government. The attempts to destabilize Georgia are obvious. It is no secret that it was done so undiplomatically and publicly that it is even surprising for a country with such diplomatic traditions. And full control over Armenia is also a reality. But it is not going to work, and they have to realize that if they want some kind of presence in the South Caucasus. They have to talk to us. We will see. Anyway, I have revealed a little bit more than I usually do, but given your question and given that we didn't go below the basement, I think it will be useful for everybody to have some new information," President Ilham Aliyev said.