Catherine Colonna said Armenia needed to be able to defend itself two weeks after Azerbaijani forces invaded Nagorno-Karabakh despite the presence of Russian peacekeepers.
ADVERTISEMENTOn a visit to Armenia, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna says Paris has agreed to deliver military equipment to the small South Caucasus nation.
After visiting ethnic Armenian refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, including burns patients injured in a petrol station explosion, the minister pledged military support.
She said: “I would like to publicly state that France has agreed on future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defence. You'll understand that I can't go into more detail at the moment."
In a two-week period, 100,000 Armenians fled the enclave in an exodus prompted by Azerbaijan’s invasion of the contested region. The enclave’s seizure happened despite the presence of Russian peacekeeping forces.
The French minister’s visit came on the same day that Azerbaijan announced it had arrested a number of ethnic Armenian political leaders from Nagorno-Karabakh.
An Azerbaijani news agency reported Arayik Haratyunyan, who led the region until September, had been brought to the Azerbaijan capital.
Three other key leaders were also detained including former separatist presidents Arkadi Gukasian and Bako Sahakyan, as well as Davit Ishkhanyan, the speaker of the separatist legislature.