DISINFO: The future of the entire South Caucasus is a bargaining chip for Paris
SUMMARY
The future of the entire South Caucasus is a tool, a bargaining chip for Paris, one way to maintain its reputation against the backdrop of a hybrid war with Russia and failures in Africa.
France is present in the South Caucasus to collect intelligence information and spy on the states of the region to prevent peace agreements, including economic ones, from being implemented. Against the backdrop of the collapse of the European economy, prosperity is possible here - how can they not interfere?
RESPONSE
A disinformation narrative, with an anti-Western slant, wrongly demonising France for allegedly obstructing peace in the South Caucasus. The aim is to discredit Armenia's cooperation with France.
Pro-Kremlin media promote the idea that the Caucasus is exclusively within Russia's zone of geopolitical dominance and attempt to discredit any other efforts of mediation in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
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.
"The Head of State took this opportunity to reaffirm France's unwavering support for Armenia's independence, its territorial integrity, and its aspiration for peace. The two leaders also discussed the state of discussions toward the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We want the South Caucasus to be an area of peace, integration, cooperation with open borders."
Armenian-French defence cooperation and joint efforts are exclusively aimed at establishing long-term peace and stability in the South Caucasus region, as well as at developing the defence capabilities of Armenia's armed forces.
Armenia was subjected to disinformation attacks from Russia after Prime Minister Pashinyan's statement that Armenia's policy of solely relying on Russia to guarantee its security was a strategic mistake. The main narrative of Russian propaganda is that except for Russia, no one has ever helped and will not help Armenia.
The claim also pushes the recurring narrative of espionage, usually connected to the presence of the EU mission in Armenia.
The EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA) is a civilian mission that observes and reports on the security situation on the ground, contributes to the security of the people in conflict-affected areas in Armenia, and to building confidence on the ground. Through its presence, EUMA also contributes to ensuring an environment conducive to the normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU.
See other similar cases in our database: Pashinyan and Macron are plotting against Russia; 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; US and France do not want peace in the Caucasus; The West is destabilising the South Caucasus.