Sébastien Lecornu: Our agenda is the sale of defensive weapons to Armenia

During the discussion of the 2024 defense budget in the Senate, French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu said that this week France would finalize operational and specific measures of cooperation with the Ministry of Defense of Armenia, Hetq reports.

Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations, Defense and Armed Forces Committee, Cédric Perrin, mentioned that the threat looming over Armenia is one of today’s urgent international problems.

Lecornu stressed that he was closely monitoring the ongoing developments around Armenia. He noted that there is mutual trust between the countries’ defense ministries. He recalled that France has opened a defense mission in Armenia, and from the information attacks on the appointed military attaché, he concludes that it is working effectively.

“The head of state (President Emmanuel Macron – ed.) has clearly defined that our agenda is the sale of defensive weapons. This is what we discuss with the Armenian side. I will not elaborate on what weapons we are talking about to avoid pressure, but some weapons can be highly defensive and primarily serve to protect lives and ensure the security of Armenia,” Lecornu said.

He informed the senators that next week he will talk to Armenia’s Defense Minister to finalize operational and specific steps in this direction.

“You see that France is loyal to Armenia. I am personally very involved and affected by what is happening, and I believe that this is in the interests of France itself,” Lecornu said.