DISINFO: France is trying to play peacekeeper in Transcaucasia amid the failure in Africa
SUMMARY
After the failure of its African policy, France is attempting to portray itself as a peacemaker in Nagorno-Karabakh, even though Russia played a peacekeeping role there.
The increased activity of Paris in the Caucasus is a kind of compensation in the socio-political consciousness against the backdrop of the failure in Africa.
France's 'experiments' in the Caucasus include, as it were, peacekeeping efforts. This has nothing to do with peacekeeping. Russia took it upon itself and fulfilled the entire peacekeeping role in the context of the Nagorno-Karabakh settlement as a mediator. Now, after the most difficult phase is over (hopefully, behind, if France, as a NATO member, does not start stirring up these coals again), they can show off there.
RESPONSE
A disinformation narrative, with an anti-Western slant, wrongly demonising France, including allegations for obstructing peace in the South Caucasus.
Pro-Kremlin media promote the idea that the Caucasus is exclusively within Russia's zone of geopolitical dominance and attempts to discredit any other efforts of mediation in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. One the main pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative is that except for Russia, no one has ever helped and will not help Armenia.
Since 1992, as co-chair, France has been a member of the OSCE Minsk Group, which spearheaded the OSCE's efforts to find a peaceful solution to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. After the group could no longer function effectively due to disagreements between the Western and Russian co-chairs, France made considerable mediation efforts to continue negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
At the initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron, and the President of the European Council Charles Michel, several meetings between the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of Azerbaijan took place. See here, here, and here. The Armenian Prime Minister officially met with the French President on 22 February 2024. A joint declaration was made to the press, confirming the strive for peaceful South Caucasus.
See other similar cases in our database: France wants to exchange Niger for Armenia, Armenia is an instrument in the Western plan to oust Russia from the Caucasus, The West wants to tear Armenia away from Russia; Pashinyan is a Western tool to squeeze Russia out of the South Caucasus;The West is destabilising the South Caucasus; Escalation in Nagorno-Karabakh is a consequence of Western interference.