French citizen Martin Ryan became a victim of the actions of French intelligence working undercover in Azerbaijan. And this is just one example of how France, with its pro-Armenian position and actions, undermines the prospects for achieving peace in the South Caucasus, reads an article published on January 10 in the French edition of L’Opinion attempts to analyze another sharp deterioration in relations between Paris and Baku in light of the recent “spy scandal.”

The author of the article, Jean-Dominique Merchet, dwelled in detail on Ryan’s detention in Baku in December last year, accused of espionage against Azerbaijan.

With reference to the detainee’s close circle, the author emphasizes that “he became a victim of manipulation by two French foreign intelligence officers who worked at the French Embassy in Baku and were expelled by the Azerbaijani side for actions that did not correspond to their official status.” The article states that the embassy employees in question “forced Ryan to collect and transmit sensitive information about third countries, in particular Iran and Türkiye, turning him into a pawn in their dangerous game.”

Referring to the serious deterioration in bilateral relations between Paris and Baku against this background, the author cites the words of Presidential Representative for Special Assignments Elchin Amirbayov, who condemned the biased pro-Armenian position of France, including the French side’s continued supply of weapons and equipment to Yerevan, as well as the active attempts to promote its submitted draft anti-Azerbaijani resolution to the UN Security Council.

As a result, “France found itself left out of the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.” Moreover, with its behavior the country “has a detrimental impact on the role of the European Union in this matter,” Amirbayov emphasized.