News - US State Department comments on France's intention to provide military assistance to Armenia

Principal Deputy Press Secretary of the US State Department, Vedant Patel, has addressed France's intention to provide military assistance to Armenia. Patel stated that there is no statement from the State Department indicating a change in position. When asked whether the State Department plans to increase any military aid in light of recent events (in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was attacked by Azerbaijan on September 19-20), Patel did not indicate any change in policy. “I have no change in posture to announce. Again, we continue to believe that dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan continues to be incredibly important to finding a dignified and durable peace for the South Caucasus. It’s why the Secretary has engaged on this so personally, continuing to speak with counterparts and interlocutors in both countries,” he said. When asked if France had consulted the US before this decision, Mr. Patel said, “I’m just not going to get into private diplomatic conversations.”