Baku responds to French envoy’s remarks on visa applications

Baku criticized French Ambassador to Azerbaijan Anne Boillon for her remarks about visa applications, calling attempts to conceal government failures a key indicator of a failed state.

In a post on X, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aykhan Hajizada, stated: “It seems that measuring the successes of foreign policy by the number of visa applications is a new method for France,” News.Az reports.

He suggested that if the strategy is not based on actual facts, it points to flawed foreign policy and incorrect analysis.

“Anne Boillon is well aware that the French embassy in Baku issues visas not only for trips to France,” Hajizada noted.

The spokesman presented figures to highlight the increasing number of French citizens applying for visas to Azerbaijan: 536 in September 2023, 467 in October, 562 in September 2024, and 605 in October.

Boillon had previously commented on the rise in visa applications from Azerbaijani citizens to the French embassy, asking, “Where does the mysterious allure of unsuccessful states stem from?”

News.Az