On 11 February, Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Ayvazyan had a telephone conversation with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian. Continuing their previous contacts, the foreign ministers held a comprehensive discussion on issues of regional stability and security, touched upon the humanitarian situation in Artsakh and the steps being taken to address the challenges facing the Armenians of Artsakh.
Within the range of humanitarian issues requiring urgent solutions, the Armenian Foreign Minister underscored the matter of the repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians held in hostage status, stressing the inadmissibility of Azerbaijan creating obstacles in that process. In this regard, Foreign Minister Ayvazyan expressed gratitude to his French counterpart for consistently keeping the issue high on the agenda.
The foreign ministers emphasized the addressing of the peaceful settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship format and exchanged views on the upcoming timeline of the co-chairs’ activities.
The heads of the foreign policy departments of Armenia and France also discussed issues on the bilateral agenda. The interlocutors highly assessed the recent visit to Armenia of the delegation of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, undertaken at the instruction of French President Emmanuel Macron, to discuss prospects for cooperation in areas of mutual interest, and exchanged views on further steps to be taken following the results of the visit.
Foreign Ministers Ayvazyan and Le Drian emphasized the continuity of contacts and consultations at various levels.
