France agrees to deliver military equipment to Armenia: Minister
2 Min Read
France gives its agreement to the conclusion of future contracts with Armenia.
-
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, accompanied by Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan, visits the National Burn Center in Yerevan, Armenia on October 3, 2023. (AFP)
On a visit to Armenia on Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna announced that Paris has agreed to supply military weapons to Yerevan.
Colonna told reporters that "France has given its agreement to the conclusion of future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defence."
Expressing she could not give details, she stressed that "there are things that were already agreed between Armenia and France and that are in progress."
Colonna traveled to Armenia after Azerbaijani forces last month entered the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh and secured the surrender of ethnic Armenian combatants that had controlled the mountainous region for decades.
France has traditionally helped mediate the decades-old territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh.
According to data from Armenia, around 100,500 ethnic Armenians have already moved to Armenia since Azerbaijan launched its operation in the region on September 19.
A border clash between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces on Monday resulted in the death of one Armenian serviceman breaching the ceasefire agreement that marked the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
Armenia reported earlier that Azerbaijani forces initiated gunfire in a border area shortly after Baku's swift control of Nagorno-Karabakh.
