Azerbaijan called on France on Wednesday to stop all “interference” in its internal affairs, after the arrest of a Frenchman accused of espionage by Baku, which was denounced by Paris as “arbitrary”. The claims of French diplomacy that “the citizen of this country was arrested without any reason are completely unfounded,” the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
A detention deemed “arbitrary” by Paris…
France on Tuesday deemed the detention in Azerbaijan of Martin Ryan, a French national accused of espionage and arrested in early December by the Azerbaijani authorities, “arbitrary”, and called for his immediate release. “This unfounded statement constitutes a distortion of reality and a new attempt to interfere in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan and in a legitimate investigation process,” responded the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“Once again, we call on the French side to stop its interference in the internal affairs of Azerbaijan,” he stressed. Suspected of having committed acts of “espionage”, Martin Ryan was arrested on December 4, then placed in detention for four months, according to Azerbaijani diplomacy. Since his arrest, consular officials from the French embassy in Baku have visited him several times and “have all the information on the investigation”, assures the press release.
…as relations worsen between France and Azerbaijan
The affair, which leaked a few days ago to online media, particularly in Azerbaijan, comes as relations worsen between Paris and Baku. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev criticizes France for supporting Armenia in the conflict between Yerevan and Baku. In November, he accused Paris of “preparing the ground for a new war” in the Caucasus by “arming” Armenia, after the announcement of the sale to Yerevan of French equipment for its ground-air defense.
For its part, Paris had accused actors linked to Azerbaijan of having led a manipulation campaign aimed at damaging France’s reputation before the 2024 Olympic Games. In December, tensions rose a notch with the reciprocal expulsion of two diplomats, a matter linked to the arrest of Martin Ryan, according to the press release from Azerbaijani diplomacy.