BAKU, October 6. /TASS/. The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry labelled French President Emmanuel Macron's claim that Baku and Ankara had refused to participate in the European Political Community Summit in Granada, Spain, as false and "an example of hypocrisy."
"It is well known to every participant of the event that it was the French side that opposed Turkey's participation in the meeting. The French president spreading false information on this issue is an inappropriate approach for a head of state," the foreign ministry commented in response to the French leader's statements made at a press conference in Granada.
Baku also responded to Paris' calls to put pressure on Azerbaijan. "Talking to Azerbaijan in the language of pressure is senseless and unacceptable. Instead of making such irresponsible statements, it would be more useful for France to put an end to its insidious policy aimed at supporting and arming Armenia and hindering peace and stability in the region," the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said in a commentary.
On Thursday, Azerbaijani Presidential Aide for Foreign Policy Hikmet Hajiyev said that Baku had refused to send representatives to the Granada meeting scheduled for October 5 because of France's biased position and objections to Turkey's participation in these talks.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had been slated to meet in Spain on the margins of the European Political Community Summit, but the meeting was cancelled. According to a high-ranking EU official, there was an attempt to organize "two-plus-three" negotiations with the participation of Paris, Berlin and Brussels. Azerbaijan had also proposed that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan participate in the talks.