During his speech at the Munich Security Conference, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that Armenia can play a role in countering Russia’s “neo-colonial” aspirations, affirming that France will continue to stand by Armenia and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
The main part of Macron’s speech concerned the Russian-Ukrainian war, whose first year is about to be completed, but the French President also touched upon the situation created in the South Caucasus.
“In a few days, the first year of Russia’s illegal attack on Ukraine will be completed, and although we cannot draw final conclusions, we can summarise this year and share certain perspectives. Naturally, the focus of my speech will be the war unleashed by Russia on Ukraine, but I must note that we do not forget the ongoing wars in the Caucasus, the Middle East and Africa, the fight against terrorism, nuclear security and other issues.
Our mission today is to explain and make clear that Russia is a force spreading instability and chaos, and it does so not only in Ukraine, but also in the Caucasus, the Middle East and Africa,” he said, adding: “How can we believe that the challenges of the Caucasus can be overcome by that neo-colonial Russia which I described a moment ago? I say this in the presence of my friend Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, by whose side we shall continue to stand and continue to work”:
