Extinguish the fire. The Azerbaijani presidency of COP29 tried this Thursday to calm things down after a diplomatic incident between its country and Paris. In a speech on Wednesday to representatives of island states, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev denounced France's colonial history and the “crimes” of Emmanuel Macron's “regime” in its overseas territories, particularly in New Caledonia.
The French Minister for Ecological Transition, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, announced a few hours later, from Paris, that she would no longer attend COP29 after these attacks, described as “unacceptable”. An absence that some consider above all symbolic, the EU having the negotiating mandate for the 27 member states. But “when a minister is there, his voice is more listened to”, others regret.
The European Union showed its solidarity with France and the Netherlands, also targeted by Ilham Aliev for their control of overseas territories. “Beyond any bilateral disagreement, the COP must be a forum where all parties feel free to come and negotiate for the climate,” responded Jacob Werksman, the chief negotiator of the European Commission, on Thursday.
The poor relations between France and Azerbaijan, linked to Paris' support for Armenia, Baku's historic enemy, have been exacerbated since the resumption of control of the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave following an offensive Azerbaijani lightning, in September 2023, at the cost of the exodus of more than 100,000 Armenians. The French president did not come to the leaders' summit on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Despite everything, the French delegation presents
“We have opened our door so that everyone can participate in constructive and fruitful discussions. Our door remains open,” Ialtchine Rafiev, Azerbaijan's lead negotiator for COP29, tried to catch up this Thursday, when questioned during a press conference on the cancellation of the French minister responsible for climate's visit next week. .
“The host country ensured that the process was inclusive,” assured the person who coordinates the difficult negotiations of the United Nations conference on a daily basis. He recalled that some 80 leaders had come to Baku and that “hundreds of ministers” were expected to take over from the technical negotiators on Monday.
Although neither Emmanuel Macron nor Agnès Pannier-Runacher made the trip, the French delegation is still present in large numbers, with around forty interministerial experts, “as many as in previous years”, the cabinet is assured. from the Minister of Ecological Transition.
Nearly 200 countries participate in the COPs. The role of the presidency of the host country is to provide the framework for producing the consensus by which decisions are made. But Wednesday's incident adds to an already tense atmosphere for this conference, organized in an authoritarian country, shunned by many G20 leaders and darkened by the re-election of Donald Trump in the United States.
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