PRESIDENT CHIRAC CAJOLES AZERBAIJAN

President Ilham Aliyev paid a state visit to France on 29-31 January. I should point out that such visits are organized by Paris no more than two or three times a year and envisage a high ceremonial protocol. But what is important is not the external official aspect of the issue. Such a visit by the head of a friendly state somewhat expresses its priority and importance in France's foreign policy. It is clear that it is of great importance to Azerbaijan to strengthen relations with a leading European power like France.

I should recall that France was the second state after Turkey that recognized the independence of the Azerbaijani Republic. Ilham Aliyev paid his first visit as the president of Azerbaijan not to Turkey or Russia, but to France. The close personal contacts that the Azerbaijani leader has established with President Jacques Chirac are proved by the fact that in 2006, President Ilham Aliyev paid two visits to France - in February and May.

Economic relations between our countries are dynamically developing, which is proved by the growth in mutual commodity turnover that totaled almost 800m euros last year. According to the volume of investment made in the Azerbaijani economy, France comes third among foreign countries. About 30 French companies are working in Azerbaijan and what is more, along with energy companies such as Total, Bouygues offshore, Technip, Spie-Capag and Entrepose, French business is also working in the sphere of construction and food industry, for example, Baku Castel, and in the sphere of telecommunications - Alcatel. Leading French corporations (Areva, Vinci, Thales and Airbus) have a noticeable interest in the construction, aviation and energy spheres of the Azerbaijani economy. We can point out that mutually beneficial relations are also developing in the spheres of agriculture and tourism, in which France has great experience and achievements. We need immediate assistance to restore grape-growing and wine-making and have started receiving it from French specialists. As for tourism, the first project here is the establishment with French involvement of a skiing base in Shamakhy which meets modern standards.

Quite an expanded exchange in the sphere of culture and education is taking place between our countries. A French cultural centre is working in Azerbaijan where French language courses have been organized and exhibitions of French and Azerbaijani painters, conferences and seminars take place.

Talking about the schedule of the visit, I should point out that the composition of the government delegation showed that along with protocol events, it was also planned to hold intensive working negotiations. In his trip to France, the Azerbaijani president was accompanied by a large delegation which included Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov, Minister of Economic Development Heydar Babayev, Minister of Emergencies Kamaleddin Heydarov, members of parliament and others. TV viewers could observe a colorful and even a pompous welcoming ceremony at the airport and at the presidential palace, the high level of official negotiations and functions. President Ilham Aliyev granted an interview to the influential newspaper Le Figaro, in which he gave the French audience information about the growing importance of Azerbaijan as a major player on the international energy market and said that the Nagornyy Karabakh problem should be solved only in the context of respect for territorial integrity.

During the state visit, President Ilham Aliyev held meetings with French officials, including the prime minister, the head of the Senate and National Assembly and the mayor of Paris. The negotiations between the two presidents were the most important part of the visit. Jacques Chirac and Ilham Aliyev discussed a wide range of issues related to the Nagornyy Karabakh conflict, as well as important problems of regional geopolitics in the context of Azerbaijan's relations with Georgia, Iran and Turkmenistan. The French president awarded the Azerbaijani head of state the Legion of Honor medal for his successful contribution to the development of relations between the two countries. The Azerbaijani head of state and his delegation visited the well-known industrial and cultural centre of France - Lille.

According to the results of President Ilham Aliyev's state visit, Azerbaijan and France signed nine documents on the deepening of cooperation between our countries in various spheres - ranging from defence and economy to culture and science. It is also necessary to highlight the intergovernment agreement "On mutual assistance and cooperation in the sphere of defense and civil defense" and the agreement "On cooperation in the sphere of credits". Agreements were signed according to which the well-known French company Svint will clear territories outside Baku from contamination and the state concern AZAL will buy four new planes from Airbus.

Thus, President Ilham Aliyev's visit can be regarded as quite successful. But there is a question - how well-substantiated are our expectations from this visit, taking account of the power and influence of the Armenian lobby in that country and France's overt sympathy with Armenia. All this is a fact and for this reason, establishing our relations with France, it would be unforgivable to forget about it. But at the same time, it is wrong to absolutize the pro-Armenian position of France and take a biased position on all the initiatives of Paris.

France highly values its reputation of a great power and is one of the few states of the world that are capable of pursuing a relatively independent policy from the United States. For this reason, it is naive to think that French diplomacy would adapt itself to the wishes of the influential but local Armenian lobby to the detriment of its own interests as a great power. That's why it is important to intensify relations with France and get it to change its position to our advantage. Instead of blowing the possibilities of the Armenian lobby out of proportion, it is necessary to critically rethink our own work to use the potential of Azerbaijani and Turkish communities in the world. Hundreds of thousands of Turks, Azerbaijanis (mainly from Iran) and several million Muslims from Africa are living in the same France. Didn't the Armenians launch their mendacious campaign of slander against us in the front of their eyes? Of course, we have to learn to use France's interest in Azerbaijan's energy and geopolitical potential in order to better inform the ruling circles and public of that country about our position and interests. Enlisting Paris's support, we can be sure that Azerbaijan's voice will be heard in European Union organizations in Brussels and Strasbourg. It is especially important because European integration processes and the European direction in Azerbaijan's foreign policy have come to the foreground after Azerbaijan joined NATO cooperation programmes and the EU's New Neighborhood Policy.

President Ilham Aliyev's visit to France is also important in the context of breaking the deadlock in the negotiations on the Karabakh settlement. Our main concern for today is to liberate the seven Armenian-occupied districts of Azerbaijan and to return refugees to their homes. Taking account of the special relations between Paris and Yerevan and the fact that France, along with Russia and the USA, is a mediator in the settlement of the protracted conflict, President Chirac has been making noticeable efforts over the last few years to solve the conflict in a peaceful way as soon as possible. The French president would probably like to complete his presidency with an international success. France itself is quite sensitive about its international standing. It is clear that Paris's mediatory role should increase France's influence in the South Caucasus, as a result of which French companies will be able to do their business on the Azerbaijani market more confidently. In a word, Paris is obviously is trying to seize the initiative in the negotiating process, intending to become one of the key players in the South Caucasus. This is also proved by the fact that after Ilham Aliyev, Armenian President Robert Kocharyan is expected to visit France in mid-February. Only after that, will it be possible to draw conclusions as to whether we should expect any progress on the negotiating process on the settlement of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict or not.

Major western European powers have historically delineated spheres of their influence, or to be more precise, their interests in the South Caucasus. It has been repeatedly noted that Paris has special links with Armenia, Germany has given preference to Georgia while Britain to Azerbaijan. This was the case during the collapse of the Russian Empire and in the years of short independence. This is partly the case now, but the only difference is that these powers are united in the European Union and are conducting a well-coordinated policy in the region. Although the European Union has 25 member states and Germany is economically dominant in it, Paris has more influence from a political point of view, especially in terms of international politics. Taking into account that Azerbaijan is placing more emphasis on the European vector of its foreign policy, it is no surprise that immediately after France, President Ilham Aliyev is expected to visit Germany. United Europe has long become not only a priority economic partner for Azerbaijan (more than 60 per cent of commodity turnover), but is also becoming our main sponsor in security issues. So the active dialogue with leading European capitals in 2007, judging by its start, tends to strengthen and expand to the mutual advantage of the sides.