France Reiterates Support for Armenia’s Sovereignty

President Emmanuel Macron of France reaffirmed and reiterated his country’s support for Armenia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty when he met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Monday at the Élysée Palace in Paris.

Pashinyan is in Paris to attend the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, on whose margins the two leaders met.

According to statements issued by the offices of Pashinyan and Macron, the two leaders discussed bilateral relations and the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

According to a statement issued by the Élysée Palace, Macron “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.”

“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 Élysée Palace statement added.

Macron and Pashinyan reportedly “agreed to continue the development of cooperation projects between France and Armenia, particularly in the fields of energy, defense and transport,” according to the French president’s press statement.

“Today relations between Armenia and France have reached a new level,” Pashinyan said, according to a press statement issued by his office.

“The peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the ongoing developments in the direction of border demarcation, as well as the unblocking of regional communication routes were discussed,” Pashinyan’s office said in a statement, adding that the prime minister emphasized his government’s commitment to the peace agenda.

France’s growing support for Armenia has angered both Azerbaijan and Russia, whose leaders have accused Macron, personally, and official Paris, of interfering in regional issues and derailing the peace process between Yerevan and Baku.