Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Aykhan Hajizadeh responded to recent remarks by French Minister for Overseas Territories Manuel Valls, who, in an interview with BFMTV, accused Azerbaijan of engaging in hybrid warfare against France and supporting pro-independence movements in French overseas territories.
Hajizadeh dismissed Valls’ claims as absurd, calling them another example of France’s unwillingness to accept its diminishing influence over its former colonies.
“Manuel Valls, who promotes France’s colonial agenda and boasts about its presence across ‘three oceans and five continents,’ once again makes groundless allegations against Azerbaijan—a clear reflection of France’s struggle to come to terms with its waning power in these regions,” Hajizadeh stated.
He further pointed out the contradiction in Valls’ statements, emphasizing that France’s own actions—such as violent crackdowns on independence movements in its overseas territories—expose the weakness of its arguments.
“The minister’s remarks only confirm that France is willing to sacrifice fundamental values like freedom of speech and self-determination whenever its so-called ‘strategic interests’ are at stake. This is yet another example of France’s double standards in international affairs,” Hajizadeh added.
The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry has called on France to put an end to its baseless smear campaign against Azerbaijan and cease making false accusations to cover up its colonial legacy.
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