News - Pashinyan to French Foreign Minister: Azerbaijani authorities carry out illegal arrests in Nagorno-Karabakh

RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan received the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic Catherine Colonna. RA Prime Minister's Office reports.  Welcoming the visit of the delegation headed by the Minister to Armenia, the Prime Minister noted. "First of all, I want to thank you personally, France and President Macron, for clearly supporting Armenia in these difficult times, as well as for expressing a clear position on ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Basically, Nagorno-Karabakh has become a victim of ethnic cleansing, and unfortunately, international mechanisms have failed to step up. Basically, we are dealing with the implementation of pre-announced ethnic cleansing. In this sense, of course, the humanitarian crisis that we had in Nagorno-Karabakh has been transferred to the Republic of Armenia. On the other hand, I must emphasize that the authorities of Azerbaijan are carrying out illegal arrests in Nagorno-Karabakh, which I also think should be in the center of international attention." Nikol Pashinyan added that at the moment the RA government is able to keep the flow of our compatriots forcibly displaced from Nagorno Karabakh under certain control, the most vital needs of the people are met with the support of the state and also a number of international partners. "But, of course, the Armenian government needs direct financial support from international partners so that we can also address medium- and long-term humanitarian issues. In this environment of ours, I think it is very important to address the issues of the bilateral agenda between our countries. Of course, these are issues of political dialog, issues of cooperation in international platforms, issues of economic cooperation," the Prime Minister said. French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna thanked for the warm welcome and conveyed the greetings of President Emmanuel Macron to the Prime Minister. "I am glad to be back in Yerevan again a few months after my previous visit, although I would have wished very much that my visit had taken place under less tragic circumstances, tragic both for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and for Armenia. And both in April and now I see familiar and friendly faces around the table, and this is of course very pleasant in the complicated world in which we now live. My visit is another manifestation of France's friendship with Armenia, and beyond friendship, it is also a manifestation of solidarity. Our solidarity has been evident throughout the year. Together with the deterioration of the humanitarian crisis and the humanitarian situation in general, the volumes of assistance have increased, and I can proudly say that France is always where it should be," emphasized Catherine Colonna. The French Foreign Minister also added that France has planned 12.5 million euros in humanitarian aid to Armenia. Catherine Colonna assured that this assistance will be continued if necessary. During the meeting the interlocutors touched upon the issues related to the Armenian-French cooperation, processes taking place in the region, as well as exchanged ideas on other topics of mutual interest.