Azerbaijan pardons French national convicted of spying

Azerbaijan has pardoned a French national who had been imprisoned in the country on espionage charges, in a move that coincides with a significant shift in relations between Baku and Brussels.

The pardon comes shortly after the European Union agreed to lift sanctions against a number of Azerbaijani oligarchs, a decision that diplomats have attributed to sustained pressure from the Azerbaijani government.

The sequence of events has raised questions among observers about whether the two developments were linked, suggesting a broader diplomatic arrangement between Azerbaijan and European parties. Neither side has publicly confirmed any formal connection between the prisoner's release and the sanctions relief.