BAKU, Azerbaijan, November 22. Russia is not at all surprised by Baku’s harsh assessment of France’s actions, the Spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova said during a weekly briefing, TurkicWorld reports.

"Both in Baku and in a number of other places, there is fatigue from the insistence of Paris, which unsuccessfully tries to rehabilitate its political reputation in the South Caucasus, significantly tarnished in other parts of the world and on other continents," she said.

Zakharova expressed regret that the risks of recurrence in the South Caucasus persist.

"In this regard, Russia consistently works to turn the region into a zone of stability and prosperity based on a balance of interests among all regional players and their neighbors," the official noted. "We are building interactions within the framework of the '3+3' consultative regional platform and are working on the comprehensive normalization of relations between Baku and Yerevan based on the highest-level trilateral agreements."

She also said that the goals of Western intermediaries, including France, are entirely different.

"They seek to turn the South Caucasus into yet another arena for geopolitical confrontation, ignoring the fundamental interests of the region's countries and doing nothing to ensure the security, stability, and prosperity of this region," Zakharova added.

President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said in his address to the participants of the International Conference on “Decolonization: Women's Empowerment and Development” held on November 21 in Baku that France destabilizes not only its past and present colonies but also the South Caucasus, by supporting separatist tendencies and separatists.

"By arming Armenia, it implements a militaristic policy, encourages revanchist forces in Armenia, and prepares the ground for the start of new wars in our region. At the same time, France abuses its status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council to carry out its biased and prejudiced policy, engages in geopolitical intrigues in various regions, and tries to use Western organizations as a means of pressure on other states," President Ilham Aliyev said.

France must implement the decisions of the International Court of Justice regarding the nuclear tests conducted in the Pacific Ocean and stop the practice of lecturing other countries, the head of state noted.