War in Ukraine: Europe turns to Baku for help

France is moving closer to Azerbaijan to deal with the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Report informs, citing an article posted in French CAUSEUR.

The war in Ukraine is a geopolitical earthquake unseen since the USSR collapsed. The main features of this violent upheaval in our geopolitical plate tectonics are the rapid emergence of new cohesive blocs, similar vital interests, and the discarding of old quarrels and rivalries.

A good example is the accelerated talks between Washington and Caracas. After years of embargoes devastating Venezuela, US President Joe Biden recently sent a clear diplomatic message to Nicolas Maduro Moros: "If you come back, I'll cancel everything!"

Hugs, Folleville!

The South Caucasus is another region where things are changing rapidly. It's no secret that there has been no crazy love between France and Azerbaijan in recent years. Since the beginning of the five-year term of French President Emmanuel Macron, long before the second Karabakh war, France, despite being the co-chair of the Minsk Group, designed to promote the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, gradually stopped concealing its sympathies and support for Yerevan, despite increasingly outraged messages from Baku.

And Paris's official stance during the 2020 war (44-day Patriotic War - ed.) left no doubt among Azerbaijanis about the French sentiments.

And then Russia invaded Ukraine. And France suddenly remembers that Azerbaijan has a rather rare geostrategic asset: it has gas and its own gas pipelines for its direct export! This advantage deserves attention.

When Heydar Aliyev (national leader of the Azerbaijani people - ed.) was elected President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in 1993, he stopped the war in Karabakh by taking over the leadership of a devastated country that lost 20% of its territory.

It was an extremely difficult decision. He then focused on the economic development of his country. This allowed him to achieve two things: to restore the oil industry, and to get the opportunity to export hydrocarbons, bypassing Russia.

Get rid of Russian guardianship

"Yeltsin's Russia seemed harmless and quite open to business. Azerbaijan took advantage of this, opening the pipeline, shortly before Putin came to power (Vladimir Putin - the current president of the Russian Federation - ed.).

In a few years, Putin would never have allowed Baku to do this. Despite their vast energy resources, those countries that couldn't do this on time today are hostages of Russia (for example, Kazakhstan).

This asset brought Baku a place at the negotiating table today. According to some information, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's phone is ringing incessantly. Charles Michel (European Council President), Mario Draghi (Italian Prime Minister), NATO Secretary-General (Jens Stoltenberg), and Emmanuel Macron often call, their tones changing with the frequency of the calls.

Azerbaijan supports Ukraine

Baku does not hold grudges. The Europeans, in particular France, asked Azerbaijan to help the weak link among the former Soviet republics - Moldova. Baku promised to allow Chisinau to do without Russian gas next winter.

This is a difficult task, requiring a change in the direction of the gas flow (which today goes from Russia to Bulgaria) to be able to transport precious hydrocarbons from south to north. Since January 2021, Azerbaijan has already supplied 19.5 billion cubic meters of gas (to Turkey, Italy, Greece, and Bulgaria). It intends to increase exports by 7 or 8% (1.5 million cubic meters) in the coming months.

Azerbaijan has also been supporting Ukraine by delivering humanitarian aid since February 26 (from the third day of the war). The State Oil Company of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SOCAR), which owns about sixty gas stations in Ukraine, refuels ambulances and other emergency services free of charge.

In recent decades, Baku has been able to find a political opportunity to live in peace in a region that Russia considers part of its sphere of influence. Azerbaijan continues on its way without becoming a vassal of Moscow and without angering it, like Georgia and Ukraine.

Baku's space for maneuver between the new geostrategic blocs that emerged after February 24 is limited but enough for France and Europe to change attitudes towards Azerbaijan.

"Hugs, Folleville," is a vaudeville comedy by Eugene Labiche and Auguste Lefranc, first staged in Paris at the Théâtre du Palais Royal on March 6, 1850.

"Hugs, Folleville" has become an ironic expression denoting a demonstration of friendship or joy, allowing you to forget about disagreements or hide problems.