During an October 11 discussion of the 2024 defense budget in the Senate, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu said that this week they will finalize operational and concrete measures of cooperation with the Ministry of Defense of Armenia.

Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations, Defense and Armed Forces Committee, Cedric Perin, in the opening speech of the session, mentioned the threat hanging over Armenia as one of today's urgent international problems.

Lecornu responded that he’s closely following the ongoing developments around Armenia and that there’s an atmosphere of mutual trust with Armenia’s defense ministry. He said that France has opened a defense mission in Armenia, and from the information attacks on the appointed military attaché, he concludes that it is working effectively.

"The head of state (President Emmanuel Macron-ed.) has clearly defined that our agenda is the sale of defensive weapons, because our discussions with Armenia are about that. I will not say more about what weapons we are talking about to avoid pressure, so that all this can be done, but some weapons can be highly defensive and primarily serve to protect lives and ensure the security of Armenia," Lecornu said.

He informed the senators that next week he will talk to Armenia’s defense minister   to finalize operational and specific steps in this direction.

"You see that France is loyal to Armenia. I am personally very involved and affected by what is happening and I think that this is also the interest of France,"   Lecornu said.

Photo: Armenian Ministry of Defense archives.