France's minister of ecological transition, Agnes Panier-Ryunache, during his speech in the country's parliament, sharply responded to the criticisms of Azerbaijan's president Ilham Aliyev about France and Europe during the opening ceremony of the COP 29 conference in Baku. He noted that France will not leave those statements unanswered.
"President Aliyev's statements against France and Europe are unacceptable. It is impossible to justify direct attacks on our country, its institutions and territories. Azerbaijan is using the fight against climate change for its own interests, which is not appropriate. These attacks are a flagrant violation of the CCNUCC (Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) code of conduct. They will not go unanswered. It is also ironic that the repressive and anti-freedom regime of Azerbaijan teaches lessons about human rights," said Agnes Panier-Ryunache.
The minister also considers the expressions of Azerbaijan's support for fossil fuels as unacceptable, when the French and European diplomacy reached a general agreement on the gradual abandonment of the use of fossil fuels at COP 28.
"It does not deserve the presidency of the COP. I would like to thank Brazil and the UK for committing to revise their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, making them more ambitious. In order to effectively fight against climate change, the international community requires such positive dynamics, rather than low-level attacks," emphasized Agnes Panier-Ryunache. The minister also announced that in this new situation, after discussing and agreeing with the French president and prime minister, he decided to refrain from going to Baku next week.
"I also want to assure that the French negotiating teams, with my remote support, will work tirelessly with our European partners to protect the planet and our people. We will continue to pursue the most ambitious goals to realize the provisions of the Paris Agreement (2015 - ed.), which we defend 10 years after signing," concluded Agnès Panier-Ryunachet.
