France Reaffirms Strong Support for Armenia’s Territorial Integrity

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan Meets with President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace

PARIS — 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 Elysee 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 cited by his press office as saying that French-Armenian relations have “reached a new level” in the past year.

Prime Minister Pashinyan expressed gratitude for the warm hospitality and highlighted that 2024 has been a highly dynamic year for Armenia-France relations. He noted that numerous meetings have taken place between the leaders and government agencies of both countries, maintaining regular communication, and that Armenia-France relations have now reached a new level.

Pashinyan’s office said the parties exchanged views on the prospects for further development of Armenia-European Union cooperation and the continued advancement of Armenia’s democratic reform agenda, as stated in the official announcement.

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.