“France will not provide the latest types of weapons, but will help” - Armenian analyst
Visit of the Minister of Defense of Armenia to France
Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan has been in France on a working visit since June 18. How long the visit will last and what its agenda is is not reported, there is only information about the minister’s meetings in Paris.
Armenian experts do not rule out the possibility of direct negotiations between Yerevan and Paris on the sale and purchase of weapons. Political scientist Hovsep Khurshudyan recalls that France is a member of NATO, and it is clear that “very serious, the latest types of weapons will not be supplied to Armenia, which is a member of the Russian military bloc CSTO.”
At the end of April French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonnat was in Yerevan on a working visit. She then stated that bilateral cooperation is also strengthening in the field of security. Later it became known about the appointment of the military attache of the French embassy in Armenia.
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All that is known about the Minister’s visit
On June 18, the Armenian Defense Ministry reported that a delegation led by Minister Suren Papikyan flew to Paris at the invitation of the Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastian Lecornu.
Suren Papikyan took part in the opening ceremony of the Paris Aviation Exhibition, got acquainted with the products of French military-industrial enterprises and met with the heads of these companies.
It is reported that the Armenian minister met with French colleague Sebastian Lecornu, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Defense and Armed Forces Christian Cambon.
During the meetings they discussed
- Armenian-French cooperation in the field of defense,
- issues related to regional security,
- implementation of the agreements reached at the meeting held in Paris on September 27, 2022.
In the fall of 2022, Suren Papikyan was in France as part of a delegation led by the Prime Minister of Armenia. This visit took place after the September hostilities on the Armenian border. The authorities asked the strategic partner Russia and allies in the CSTO military bloc to protect the country’s territory from the invasion of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, but they never received help.
In 2022, Papikyan also met with the French Minister of the Armed Forces. According to the statement of the Ministry of Defense, an agreement was reached that “the French defense department will send a special delegation to Armenia to get acquainted with the situation on the ground.” During the last visit, Sebastian Lecornu confirmed the position of France on this issue: “Azerbaijani troops must be withdrawn from the territory of the Republic of Armenia.”
A comment
According to political scientist Hovsep Khurshudyan, the Armenian Defense Minister’s visit to France testifies to the deepening of bilateral cooperation. He is convinced that negotiations will also be held in Paris on the supply of arms.
Although Armenia and France are in different military alliances, he believes that cooperation can have practical results. As an example, he cites a similar situation – cooperation between Kazakhstan, which, like Armenia, is part of the Russian military bloc CSTO, and NATO member Turkey:
“Kazakhstan received the most serious weapons from Turkey, the same Bayraktars that Azerbaijan used during the 2020 war. I won’t say that this is the best unmanned aircraft, in Ukraine we saw that if the right system works against it, then these drones can be easily neutralized. In any case, they have serious Western technologies. If they are provided to Kazakhstan, then there is no such obstacle.”
According to the analyst, France has a powerful military industry and produces very high quality weapons:
“Today, Ukrainians are making great strides with French weapons. We are talking about French artillery, but France also has brilliant aviation.
Khurshudyan assures that there is no hope of receiving weapons from Russia, and, in his opinion, Armenia does not need them:
“Russian weapons are also a threat of dependence on this country, which clearly seeks to destroy the sovereignty of Armenia and annex it.”
The fact that Russia was paid millions of dollars, but the purchased weapons were not delivered, the Prime Minister of Armenia said. However, he did not specify what kind of ally, who did not fulfill his obligations, he was talking about. Later it turned out that this partner is Russia. But so far, neither Nikol Pashinyan nor other members of his team have specified what is being done to obtain the undelivered weapons, whether lawsuits are underway, or whether there is a plan to return the amount paid.
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Visit of the Minister of Defense of Armenia to France
