Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs Responds to Recent Statements by French Foreign Minister

The spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, Ani Badalyan, provided comments in response to inquiries from the media.

Question: On April 2, French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, discussed the need for ensuring stability in the South Caucasus and the genuine intentions of Armenia to avoid escalation during a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken. He also expressed concerns regarding potential threats to Armenia's territorial integrity. Some countries do not consider France's perception beneficial for regional stability. How would you comment on this?

Answer: We believe that the French Foreign Minister's remarks on April 2, as well as France's objectives and significant contributions in facilitating peace in the region, are known to all partners. There are numerous examples of collaboration in both bilateral and regional or multilateral frameworks with Armenia. In this context, we can specifically highlight the quadrilateral meeting that took place in Prague in October 2022 within the framework of the European Political Community, during which the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan reaffirmed their commitment to the 1991 Almaty Declaration. Notably, the discussions about the Prague meeting and the Almaty Declaration were also mentioned in a statement released by the office of the President of Azerbaijan following a phone conversation with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Of course, we value France's contribution as a member of the European Union, whose mission has been to monitor the interstate border between Armenia and Azerbaijan since October 2022, following the same Prague meeting, and in recent days has issued relevant statements. We believe that the activities and assessments in line with the EU mission's mandate should be taken into account, including the positions of all EU member states.