PARIS (Azatutyun) — French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his country’s strong support for Armenia’s territorial integrity when he held talks with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Paris on Monday.
The two leaders discussed bilateral ties and the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, according to official readouts of the talks held on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit taking place in the French capital.
“The Head of State reiterated France’s full support for the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan as well as the signing of a peace treaty in accordance with international law,” read a statement released by the presidential Elysée Palace. “He also reiterated France’s determination to support the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Armenia as well as the aspirations of the Armenian people for peace, security and democracy.”
The statement said Macron and Pashinyan “agreed to continue the development of cooperation projects between France and Armenia, particularly in the fields of energy, defense and transport.” Pashinyan was quoted by his press office as saying that French-Armenian relations have “reached a new level” in the past year.
France, which is home to an influential Armenian community, has emerged in recent years as Armenia’s leading Western backer and supplier of weapons. The two countries have signed a series of contracts for the delivery of French weapons to the Armenian military, prompting strong condemnation from Azerbaijan.
Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan underlined their growing military cooperation during a recent visit to Paris in December. The visit coincided with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot’s calls for the European Union to deepen its ties with Armenia and “provide it with all the support it has the right to expect.”
