Macron Urges South Caucasus to Break Free from Imperial Powers

(MENAFN) French President Emmanuel Macron declared Tuesday that the South Caucasus must resist becoming an arena of great-power competition, calling instead for the region to emerge as a connective bridge between Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East.

"The South Caucasus is not destined to be a field of empires competing over it as a trophy," Macron said at the Yerevan Dialogue.

Addressing Armenia's long-standing security dependence on Moscow, Macron was direct: "I know that for a long time, many believed Armenia's destiny could only lie under the so-called protective wing of Russia. But the 2020 war showed that this protection was not as reliable as many thought," he said, underscoring that the South Caucasus had historically been molded by the ambitions of outside powers.

Macron praised Armenia for making "a courageous and necessary choice" in pursuing peace initiatives and normalizing relations with Azerbaijan, crediting the process with steadying the country's political and economic course.

He pressed for the full reopening of regional borders — including those separating Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Türkiye — insisting that "borders must open, all borders, and they must open fully."

"This is what will unlock full economic opportunity and allow for routes of peace rather than imperial conflicts in the South Caucasus," he said.

Macron also pointed to concrete international financial backing for the region's transformation, citing the IMF and the French Development Agency — the latter of which he said is underwriting regional projects valued at close to €4 billion (approximately $4.3 billion).

The French leader argued that the 2020 war had fundamentally exposed the fragility of entrenched security assumptions and the dangers of excessive dependence on external guarantors, signaling a broader geopolitical reckoning for the region.

Drawing on Europe's own post-conflict trajectory, Macron contended that the continent's hard-won model — built on sovereignty, rule of law, and interstate cooperation — now offers a relevant blueprint for regional stability. He further argued that durable peace in the South Caucasus could only be anchored in international law and multilateral cooperation, not power politics.

The Yerevan Dialogue, running Tuesday and Wednesday in the immediate wake of the European Political Community summit, convenes policymakers, analysts, and regional stakeholders to address pressing geopolitical and global challenges.

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