At a press conference in Yerevan on October 3, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna stated that France agreed to sign an agreement with Armenia, thanks to which Paris will be able to provide Yerevan with military equipment. 

"France agreed to the signing of an agreement between Armenia and France, according to which Paris will be able to provide military equipment to Armenia to ensure the country's defense," she said. She also welcomed Armenia's ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC. "From Yerevan, I welcome the decision of the Parliament of the Republic of Armenia to ratify the Rome Statute, which will allow Armenia to become a state party to the International Criminal Court," the minister said.

Moreover, Colonna stated that Paris is ready to sign an agreement on military assistance to Armenia. "We discussed issues of bilateral cooperation in the field of security. France agreed to conclude a contract with Armenia in the future, which would allow the supply of military products so that it could ensure its security," she added. Colonna noted that it could not provide details, but a number of issues have already been agreed upon between Paris and Yerevan.

Meeting between Pashinyan and Colonna

On October 3, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received Catherine Colonna.

Welcoming the delegation's visit led by the Minister to Armenia, the Prime Minister noted, "Basically, Nagorno-Karabakh became a victim of ethnic cleansing, and unfortunately, it was impossible to launch international mechanisms. In fact, we are dealing with the implementation of pre-announced ethnic cleansing. In this sense, of course, the humanitarian crisis that existed in Nagorno-Karabakh has been now transferred to the Republic of Armenia."

"But, of course, the Armenian government needs direct financial support from international partners so that we can also solve medium-term and long-term humanitarian problems. In this environment of ours, I consider it very important to address issues of the bilateral agenda between our countries. Of course, these are issues of political dialogue, issues of cooperation on international platforms, issues of economic cooperation," the prime minister added.

Catherine Colonna noted, "My visit is just another manifestation of the friendship that France has towards Armenia and, beyond friendship, it is also a manifestation of solidarity. Our solidarity has been shown throughout the year. Along with the deterioration of the humanitarian crisis and the humanitarian situation in general, the aid volumes have increased, and I am proud to say that France is always where it should be."

The French Foreign Minister also added that France has planned a humanitarian aid of 12.5 million euros for Armenia. Colonna assured that this aid will continue if needed. At the meeting, the interlocutors touched on issues related to Armenian-French cooperation and processes in the region. 

Azerbaijan Responds

On October 4, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry reported that Azerbaijan strongly condemns and rejects the groundless claims made against Azerbaijan by Catherine Colonna.

"For nearly 30 years, France, which has never paid attention to the mass expulsion of Azerbaijanis from their native land, war crimes and mass massacres, now without any reason and the UN, the International Committee of the Red Cross, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and The claim that the Armenian residents who left the region on a voluntary basis were forcibly displaced from the area, completely contrary to the position expressed by other international organizations, aims to confuse the international community," the information noted.

"It is unacceptable that France is trying to arm Armenia in every possible way, to involve it again in aggression and military adventure. It must be clear to France that these efforts will fail, just like France's historical attempts to intervene in our region," the report added.

"Stating that France always supports Armenia and that France is the initiator of the UN Security Council meetings has once again proved that the neutral and neutral mediator claims made by France in the last 30 years are completely groundless," the ministry stated.