ArmInfo. Our goal is not to help Armenia or anyone else prepare for the next war, but to avoid the next war, be it in Karabakh, on the borders or elsewhere. This was stated by the French Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lacote, who is completing his mission in our country.
Thus, the French diplomat in an interview with the "Lurer" news agency, when asked how the issue of military support can be discussed when Armenia and France are not part of the same military bloc, the diplomat replied that if Armenia applies, France is ready to look for options for support, since their goal is to rule out a new war.
"I am fully aware that expectations from France are very high in the security field, and any my reaction to this topic increases these expectations. I think you need to be very clear, first of all, France is ready to consider the appeals that will come from Armenia. That is, if there is an initiative on the part of Armenia, we are ready to consider how we can give a course to this appeal. Naturally, certain circumstances need to be taken into account, "the Ambassador noted.
At the same time, he agreed that, indeed, Armenia is a member of the military alliance - the Collective Security Treaty Organization. However, according to him, it is also necessary to take into account the fact that negotiations are a priority for them.
"Our goal is not to help Armenia or anyone else prepare for the next war, our goal is to avoid the next war, whether in Karabakh, on the borders or elsewhere. Our goal will always be to negotiate, resume dialogue between Yerevan and Baku, reduce tension and to establish confidence-building measures to ensure the final peace in the region. All this will allow, especially the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, to live safely in their cities and villages, "Lacote stressed.
At the same time, he added that the Statement of November 9, 2020, as its name suggests, is not a treaty, it has great merit, since it allowed establishing a long-term truce in Nagorno-Karabakh. " We see with the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group and agree that, of course, there are still many problems. As I have already noted, the issue of the status of Nagorno-Karabakh remains unresolved, and we are faced with especially serious humanitarian problems, in particular, with the Armenian prisoners of war held in Azerbaijan, the border problems of Armenia- Azerbaijan started in May.
We believe that it is very important that the three co-chair countries are again involved in the resumption of negotiations. It is obvious that these three states, first of all, act as a mediator. To resume negotiations, there must be political will in Yerevan and Baku. From my communication with the Armenian authorities, I can state that there is this will here. And this is very important, since all this is in the interests of Armenia. I think that in the coming weeks and months, the co-chairs will restore their central role. This group [OSCE Minsk Group] is the only platform for negotiations recognized by all, "the French Ambassador to Armenia summed up.