YEREVAN — French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné reaffirmed his country’s strong support for Armenia and its government’s efforts to negotiate a peace deal with Azerbaijan during his visit to Yerevan on Monday.
The French-Armenian relationship “continues to strengthen,” and France is “determined to support this friendly country in the defense of its sovereignty and its pursuit of peace,” Séjourné said after talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan.
“I have come to express the friendship, solidarity, and support of France to the government and people of Armenia,” Séjourné stated at a joint news conference with Mirzoyan. “Despite threats, intimidation attempts, Russia’s open hostility, and all other challenges, Armenia continues on its path toward freedom and democracy.”
Séjourné mentioned “defense” as one of the topics discussed during his talks in Yerevan. He defended France’s growing military cooperation with Armenia, emphasizing that Paris is pursuing these ties “without any intent of escalation.”
On Monday, Séjourné urged Baku to reciprocate Yerevan’s willingness to promptly sign a peace agreement that would commit both South Caucasus nations to recognizing each other’s Soviet-era borders.
“Armenia wants peace, France wants peace, the international community wants peace, and since Azerbaijan will soon host the COP 29 summit, it is incumbent upon them to demonstrate that they sincerely want to achieve peace before COP 29,” he said.
The French minister appeared to endorse Yerevan’s repeated offers to sign an interim deal, which would include the majority of articles from a draft Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty already agreed upon by both sides.
“Once again, we are ready to sign the peace agreement as soon as possible—the text that has already been agreed upon by Azerbaijan and Armenia,” Mirzoyan reiterated at the joint press conference with his French counterpart.
Over the past year, Paris and Yerevan have signed several defense contracts for the sale of French-manufactured radars, artillery, short-range air-defense systems, and armored personnel carriers to the Armenian military. Notably, the Armenian military is expected to receive 36 CAESAR self-propelled howitzers by the end of next year.
