Azerbaijan says ‘derogatory remarks, provocations’ by France will not go unanswered

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Azerbaijan said on Monday that Baku will not leave unanswered what it described as “derogatory remarks and provocations” by France.

“France can be sure that the anti-Azerbaijan campaign, the derogatory remarks and provocations will not remain unanswered,” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizada said in a commentary published by the ministry.

Responding to a question about whether Paris has responded to Baku’s request for an apology for French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin’s remarks on the country earlier this month, Hajizada said it has rather expanded its smear campaign against Azerbaijan in local media outlets.

“Anti-Azerbaijan campaign waged by France under the veil of ‘democracy’ aims to cover up the shortcomings of this country’s foreign policy,” he further said.

He went on to say that while France is attempting to teach “democracy” to the world, its actions such as “abuses of international law, neo-colonial policy, racism, discrimination, Islamophobia and human rights restrictions” are well-known.

“Therefore, before calling Azerbaijan a ‘dictatorship,’ France would do well to take note of its actions,” he added.

Darmanin claimed on a local TV program on May 16 that Azerbaijan is a "dictatorship."

Hajizada called on France to apologize for the remark in a statement published a day later, expressing that it would lead to further negative consequences for Azerbaijan-France relations "should this not be the case."