Jonathan Lacote: France is ready to consider Armenia`s appeals in the  field of security

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.