Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has accused France of inciting a new war in the Caucasus by arming Armenia, Baku’s long-standing adversary. Aliyev made the accusations in written comments to an international conference in Baku, stating that France is pursuing a militaristic policy by arming Armenia and encouraging revanchist forces, which he believes is laying the groundwork for provoking new wars in the region. He also criticized France for disrupting stability in the South Caucasus and supporting separatist trends. The territorial conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region has seen little progress in internationally mediated peace talks, but both countries’ leaders have expressed hope for a comprehensive peace agreement by the end of the year. However, Aliyev refused to attend negotiations with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Spain last month, citing French bias. This comes after French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz were scheduled to join EU chief Charles Michel as mediators at those talks.