Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry urges France to stop making unfounded allegations against Azerbaijan

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has responded to what it described as unfounded allegations by French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot.

The ministry made the statement, TodayPress TV reports.

Official Baku strongly condemns France’s continued targeting of Azerbaijan with unfounded allegations, most recently during Jean-Noël Barrot’s address at the Global Forum on Building Trust and Strengthening Democracy, organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on October 13.

The French minister’s accusations against Azerbaijan demonstrate that the French side has yet to abandon its confrontational rhetoric in relations with Azerbaijan.

Accusing Azerbaijan of interfering in the struggle waged by the peoples of New Caledonia and France’s other overseas territories for their rights is entirely unfounded. Unjustifiably attributing developments in France’s overseas territories to foreign interference, despite differing views among the parties involved, is an attempt to overshadow the will and concerns of the populations living in those territories.

French officials who speak about democracy, human rights and the rule of law would do better to focus first on consistently applying these principles in France’s own policies.

“We call on the French side to stop making unfounded allegations against Azerbaijan and to abide by the principles of mutual respect, sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs in international relations.”