ArmInfo.French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu meets with his Armenian counterpart Suren Papikian today to formalize the acquisition of weapons that will allow the country to protect its civilian population and secure its borders. This is stated in the message of the French Ministry of Defense in X.
As previously reported, France will supply "a range of weapons" to Armenia, including air defense systems. This was stated by French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu in an interview with Le Parisien. According to Mr. Lecornu, France will help Armenia "protect its civilian population and ensure the protection of its borders." The minister emphasized that Armenia will acquire "a number of weapons from French industrialists," particularly for anti-aircraft defense.
The signing of the contract should take place today, Monday, October 23, according to the French Ministry of Defense. Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan arrived in the country on an official visit yesterday In September, Mr. Lecornu said that France was studying Armenia's defense needs. He emphasized that President Emmanuel Macron personally monitors what is happening in the region and considers the integrity, sovereignty and protection of the population of this country important for France.
According to analysts, Armenia turned to France for military-technical cooperation, since the country's strategic ally, the Russian Federation, refused to fulfill its obligations on arms supplies. Back in May, official Yerevan announced a disruption in supplies by the Russian side. Then Deputy Foreign Minister Mnatsakan Safaryan said that Yerevan did not receive the weapons ordered from Russia and already paid for, and it was refused to return the 400 million dollars paid. Moscow stated that the contracts for the supply of weapons had not yet been terminated.
