On 27 January, the French Secretary of State Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne spoke on the French-Azerbaijani relations and the prospects of cooperation following the second Nagorno-Karabakh war. 

“During the period of war, France always noted its position on recognition of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. I personally, had noted in my speech in the Senate in this regard,” he stated. “Of course, some misunderstandings have happened. However, it is important for two friendly countries to solve this between them. We saw this in the face of both presidents. We should look to the future. That is the main thing. The Azerbaijani and French Presidents  have also stressed this in their phone conversations. I hope that there will be reciprocal visits between the two countries. I can say that I was one of the first to lay the foundation in this direction,” he stressed.

Lemoyne also spoke on the prospects of bilateral relations between France and Azerbaijan, saying that they should develop in a “ascending line” and named the phone conversations between Macron and Aliyev as an example. He also spoke on what contribution France would have within the OSCE Minsk Group after the signing of the trilateral statement. “There have been wars in our history for many years, especially with Germany. But we have overcome all of these problems. An organisation like the European Union has been established [with the work of] great politicians. Certainly, we had negotiations with President Aliyev regarding all of these and noted the importance of the cooperation. France, as a co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, will give its contribution to the activities in the next stage. France will give its contribution in the direction of implementation of the terms of the 10 November statement and to new development prospects. We will work on the implementation of the future plans, protection of national heritage in the region, and humanitarian issues. As you see, the activity directions are wide,” Lemoyne elaborated.  

The French Secretary of State also said that there are no obstacles for French companies to be engaged in the restoration of the Azerbaijani controlled territories of Nagorno-Karabakh, adding that France has very experienced companies in the fields of water clearance and electricity.

A more sceptical view was voiced by Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, who emphasised that “a lasting solution in Nagorno-Karabakh” was needed. He said that Germany is ready to contribute to the process through the OSCE Minsk Group, EU and Eastern Partnership format to help finding a solution. 

“Even after the peace was achieved, there were difficulties faced by both countries. Any progress in the process will depend on the will of the two countries to enter into a dialogue with each other, and we certainly support this process. We know that the process has an impact on stability in both countries and the region,” Maas added. 

The US and UK ambassadors in Azerbaijan also made public statements, saying that their counties’ governments were interested in investing in Nagorno-Karabakh. The US ambassador Earle Litzenberger said that US companies are interested in the cooperation regarding the management of water resources, establishment of roads and other infrastructure, and in the digital and innovative technologies field. The British ambassador James Sharp said that the UK companies are interested in restoration-reconstruction works, to be conducted in the electric power field in the Azerbaijani controlled territories as well as in the improvement of the use of renewable energy in Azerbaijan in general.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev relieved Ramin Guluzadeh from the post of the country’s Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies and appointed the chairman of Azerkosmos OJSC Rashad Nabiyev as his successor. While congratulating Nabiyev on his appointment, Aliyev underlined the major projects which should be completed in Nagorno-Karabakh.  

“Major transport projects have been launched in the liberated areas, and the construction of the Fuzuli Airport has begun. As I mentioned, a second airport will be built in Kalbajar or Lachin. We have started the construction of the Fuzuli-Shusha highway. At the same time, major projects in the field of transport and communications are being discussed for this region. Here, of course, the Horadiz-Zangilan railway, then the Zangilan-Nakhchivan railway, the Nakhchivan-Turkey railway projects are a priority, and so are other projects. I think that the situation after the war opens up new opportunities for countries of the region. Azerbaijan is ready to cooperate in this field and is contributing to this work. I also ordered to start designing the Horadiz-Aghband railway. Other projects have already been launched as well. The most modern technologies must be applied here so that Azerbaijan can always maintain its leadership in this area. I do hope that you will fulfil all these tasks with dignity,” Aliyev emphasised.