French senators urge authorities to consider sending CAESAR self-propelled howitzers to Armenia alongside the recently delivered weapons. The defense budget bill of the French Senate outlines plans for Armenia to receive a total of 50 Arquus Bastion armored personnel carriers. Currently, 24 of these vehicles are in the process of being shipped, while the remaining ones are still in production.

"Armenia recently signed an order for three GM200 radars from Thales, and there is talk of delivery of MISTRAL 3 surface-to-air missiles. The rapporteurs can indicate that 24 Bastion-type armored vehicles produced by the French group Arquus are being delivered to Armenia and should be joined by 26 other vehicles of the same type currently in production. The French authorities have initiated the delivery of “defensive” weapons to Armenia,” the report says. 

Senators Hugues Saury and Helene Conway-Mouret expressed the view that French arms supplies to Armenia should not be limited to “defensive” equipment.

“This distinction between defensive and offensive weapons is not very operational, as the war in Ukraine demonstrated. Let’s not repeat the same mistakes by delivering equipment late that would have been necessary from the start. This is why we must respond quickly to all the requests from the Armenian authorities, particularly regarding their need for artillery. The rapporteurs recommend, in this regard, that the delivery of CAESAR artillery systems be studied as soon as possible considering the effectiveness of this equipment and the new production capacities of Nexter in 2024,” said Senators in a recommendation for the 2024 budget.

In November, Azerbaijan condemned the arms deals between France and Armenia, asserting that these agreements would enhance Armenia’s military capacity to conduct destructive operations in the region.

Read also: France to Provide Military Equipment to Armenia; Azerbaijan Responds