It became obvious that France, in fact, supports separatism in the post-Soviet space after in 2008. In 2008, the "mediation" of French President Nicolas Sarkozy resulted in Russia's occupation of Georgian Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region of Georgia. François Hollande, the next president of France, organized the conclusion of the so-called "Minsk agreements" in 2014-2015, and in fact contributed to the "legitimization" of the separatists in the Ukrainian Donbass. Today France represented by its current president Emmanuel Macron continues the policy of supporting separatism, as evidenced by the material of Ukrainian political analyst Igor Chalenko:

The Kremlin still has some powerful allies in the West who support separatism in post-Soviet states whose policies run counter to EU positions. These include French President Emmanuel Macron, who has publicly supported pro-Russian separatism in the South Caucasus, in particular in Karabakh, which is occupied by groups loyal to the Kremlin. Moreover, far from any EU member state, Mr Macron himself admits that his stance on the South Caucasus is supported.

Specific position

On 27 June, at a meeting with representatives of the Armenian community in Marseille, Emmanuel Macron claimed he had more pressure on Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev than on Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan:

"I am the only one with a clear position and message on the Artsakh issue (as the pro-Russian Armenian separatists call their enclave in Azerbaijani Karabakh).

Stating his "strong position on Artsakh", Macron stressed that he would "continue his efforts", and it was in this context that he highlighted that "France was the first to send its military attaché to its embassy in Armenia". In this regard, the president added meaningfully: "We are doing everything we can".

The statement made by Macron in Marseille signalled support for pro-Russian separatism in Karabakh.

The French president also acknowledged that his position is not shared by the rest of Europe: "I will persevere in my efforts, even if I am almost the only one in the international family with such an agenda.

From this perspective Macron's policy in the South Caucasus runs completely counter to the European Union's foreign policy aimed at achieving peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

The trilateral alliance between France, Iran and Russia:

If France's position is disadvantageous to either the West or Ukraine, then who is satisfied with Macron's policy? First and foremost the beneficiaries - Russia and Iran.

An analysis prepared for Newsweek says Moscow is using Armenian separatists in Karabakh, which even the Armenian prime minister has already recognised as sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, to put pressure on Baku.

Along with Tehran, Moscow sees the separatist enclave of Karabakh as an 'emergency circuit breaker' for Azerbaijani energy supplies to the European Union," explains the Begin-Sadat Center, one of Israel's leading think tanks.

Moreover, analysing numerous public statements and analytical assessments in the leading media, it can be concluded that a coalition of France, Iran and Russia has formed in the South Caucasus, which has "joined its forces in the Caucasus against Azerbaijan and Israel".

In May, the US publication The Wall Street Journal noted that President Macron's policy in the South Caucasus was in line with the regional interests of Moscow and Tehran, and at odds with the efforts of Washington and Brussels to peacefully resolve differences between Yerevan and Baku.

"Paris has adopted a position that generally strengthens Russia and Iran's game in the South Caucasus," said an article in the aforementioned US publication.

Macron's encouragement of Armenian separatism is also of concern in Ukraine, whose population is subject to military aggression by Russia and its allies such as Iran.

"The European Union, thanks to its partners with Azerbaijan, manages to refuse energy resources obtained from Russia," one of Ukraine's largest publications, Censor, noted in May.

The Armenian factor in France

However they carry little electoral weight in France, President Macron has become a hostage to the radical elements of the Armenian diaspora. The number of citizens of French-Armenian origin with the right to vote is around 600,000. This represents just 1% of the electorate.

Despite this, the leader of one of Europe's leading powers is under the influence of Armenian radicals. "Azerbaijan is not the aggressor in this conflict, but was the victim of the architects of the 'Greater Armenia' project, promoted by Moscow. Now, as a result of the Second Karabakh War, Azerbaijan is restoring its sovereign territories. And this is causing a strong reaction from the Armenian diaspora of millions and individual French politicians who are under its influence," says an analytical report published by the Ukrainian television company Channel 5.

Controversy in the negotiation process

According to Armenian media reports, immediately after the European summit in Chisinau on 1 June, Macron phoned the co-chair of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organisations in France, Mourad Papazian, to complain to the EU representatives, saying: "Only I am interested in Artsakh's future, while other participants of the negotiation process (including German Chancellor Scholz and European Council President Michel) consider Artsakh an integral part of Azerbaijan.

On this background, the Central European and US media are unanimous in pointing out Macron's destructive role in the South Caucasus.

The London-based publication EuToday explains that "France, like Russia, is not in favour of resolving the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. This gives them an excuse for maintaining and increasing their influence in the South Caucasus".

One can conclude that the French and Russian leaders are contributing to the escalation of the conflict in the Caucasus and are masking their actions with mediatory rhetoric.

Against the victory of Ukraine?

The Ukrainian media actively covers the situation in the South Caucasus.

According to analytical calculations, France's foreign policy is dictated by the Kremlin. Perhaps because influential French forces are not interested in Ukraine's victory and are shifting their attention from dictator Putin to Azerbaijan, which supplies fuel to Ukraine for free.

"Backed by Armenia, French politicians are trying to shift the world's political focus from the war in Ukraine to the South Caucasus," RBC-Ukraine reports.

The Ukrainian Telegraph explains that "Macron's policy in the South Caucasus meets Putin's interests, and both of them impede Washington's efforts to establish peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan".

Another reason for Macron's mentioned policy is possible: France is sincerely not interested in Ukraine's victory and therefore regularly interacts with the Kremlin in a "deep curtsy" mode.

The French's energy and economic dependence on Russia forces them to support aggression against Ukraine while simultaneously oppressing Azerbaijan to please Putin...

Igor Chalenko, political scientist, head of the Centre for Analysis and Strategy (Ukraine).

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