18:17,

YEREVAN, MARCH 23, ARMENPRESS. Vice President of the National Assembly of Armenia Ishkhan Saghatelyan received French Ambassador to Armenia Anne Louyot and the First Adviser of the French Embassy in Armenia Christophe Katsahian.

 Welcoming the guests, Ishkhan Saghatelyan highly appreciated the Armenian-French friendly relations. “France is one of the most important and friendly countries of Armenia in Europe. We have permanently seen the support of France to the Republic of Armenia, and we are concerned about developing the bilateral relations,” Vice President of the National Assembly underlined.

Ishkhan Saghatelyan presented the situation created in Armenia and in Artsakh in the post-war period, noting that both Armenia and Artsakh have the most serious security problems at this moment. After the ceasefire Azerbaijan continues its threatening rhetoric, aggression and the policy of evictions of Armenians from Artsakh. In this context Ishkhan Saghatelyan noted that the Azerbaijani armed forces invaded the sovereign territory of Armenia in two directions on the previous year and continue remaining there.

Touching upon the Artsakh problem and the processes going on around it, Ishkhan Saghatelyan informed that a few days ago they exploded the pipeline from the Azerbaijani side in Artsakh, putting about 100.000 Artsakh residents before the humanitarian disaster. And plus, to this there are various threats also directed to the residents to leave the villages. “We greatly highlight the response of the international community and the distinct assessment to what is happening. The problem of Artsakh should be resolved within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship,” the National Assembly Vice President stressed, adding that this format should be able to be kept despite the wish of Azerbaijan. “Our position is that Artsakh can never be part of Azerbaijan,” the opposition deputy underlined.

The Ambassador inquired about the relations of the opposition with the authorities, not nominating candidate for the President of the Republic by the opposition, the issues of signing a peace treaty with Azerbaijan, the Armenian-Turkish relations, etc. In her turn, Ambassador Anne Louyot underscored the Armenian-French high level relations, emphasized the meetings with the parliamentary opposition. The Ambassador has informed that France attentively follows the actions happening on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border.

Regarding the issue of the NK conflict settlement, Anne Louyot assured that France maintains its positions within the framework of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship in order to be able to help both sides to establish peace and stability in the region.