News - France ambassador to Armenia: American, European mediations are most reliable guarantees

There are some concerning statements coming from Baku. And the Prime Minister and the Republic of Armenia will simply listen and take those statements into account. French Ambassador to Armenia Olivier Decottignies stated this in an interview with Armenpress—and referring to the fact that Prime Minister of Armenia recently announced that Azerbaijan is preparing for a new war against Armenia, there have been negotiations and meetings with the participation of France, and when asked what role France can play to prevent the predicted new war. "France has played an important role in helping to achieve some key elements in the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, in particular, what was agreed between the two parties in Prague in October 2022, the mutual recognition of each other's territorial integrity and the Alma-Ata Declaration as a basis for dealing with border issues. This is our contribution already. Now we  support all efforts under the umbrella of the European Union and the United States to reach a  durable stable and just peace agreement. This is our position, and  anything goes in that direction has our support," he said. To the question of who and what can be the guarantee of the Armenian-Azerbaijani peace treaty, and what role can the EU, especially France, play in this regard, the French ambassador responded: " It takes two to tango. First of all, we need two parties to genuinely be willing to achieve an agreement. And of course, over the past 30 years, we've come to a certain confidence that third-party support and guarantees are needed. In our view, American and European mediations are the most reliable guarantees. And we have seen, when it comes to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, that the guarantee system put in place in 2020 did not work. We must also learn lessons from that.” Referring to the future cooperation between Armenia and France, Olivier Decottignies noted: " The cooperation we have with Armenia is certainly not limited to military matters; it is the latest addition to this cooperation. Many actors are involved in this collaboration: the French government, French government agencies, French companies, French non-governmental organizations, and Diaspora organizations in France. All are trying to take into account the current strategic situation of Armenia. My advice to them, and I meet with them regularly, is to focus on the most strategic sectors and the most strategic areas of Armenia, even though they are under the greatest threat. If you have a strategic approach, then there is no small project or small question. Everything is relevant, useful, and impactful as long as it is thought out strategically. So, in that regard, one priority that was discussed during the meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Pashinyan and our President in Paris a couple of weeks ago is the infrastructure in the fields of energy, transport, and connectivity. Reinforcing and supporting Armenia also means reinforcing the infrastructure.” To the question as to whether any high-level visit from France is planned to Armenia in the nearest  future, the French ambassador to Armenia responded: " Our two foreign ministers just met a few weeks ago. It was neither in France nor in Armenia; so I guess there will be some visits from both sides in the near future. And, as you know, the Prime Minister of Armenia has invited the Prime Minister of France to visit Armenia. Visits are important because they allow to make significant progress and take stock of what we have done together. But there are many more visits than just official visits that I would like us to focus on. Over the weekend, two very prominent French surgeons were in Armenia working with Armenians. They taught very vital gestures that can help save someone suffering from hemorrhage. Thirty percent of Armenian casualties in recent conflicts were inflicted from hemorrhage. Famous surgeons come from France devoting time in helping Armenia. And we have such cases in all fields. Important visits are to come, but there are no small visits as well."