Pashinyan and Macron strengthen bilateral ties: France's support and Armenia's steps towards peace

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YEREVAN, 3 October. /ARKA/. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace./pp

The interlocutors discussed issues related to the Armenia-France multi-sector agenda, the importance of continuous implementation of consistent steps aimed at the development and strengthening of friendly relations was emphasized, Pashinyan's press service reported./pp

It said Prime Minister Pashinyan emphasized the constant support of friendly France andbr underlined Armenia's readiness to implement steps aimed at the development of all spheres of bilateral interest./pp

The French President reaffirmed his unconditional support to Armenia, as well as his readiness for consistent development of France-Armenia bilateral relations./pp

Next, the Prime Minister referred to the results of the discussions on the draft peace treaty with Azerbaijan, noting that 80 percent of the points of the draft have been agreed upon and Armenia is ready to sign the treaty based on it and continue further discussions. Nikol Pashinyan emphasized the steps aimed at ensuring peace and stability in the region, expressing his belief that the signing of the agreement will contribute to the solution of this issue./pp

Issues related to the Crossroads of Peace project of the Armenian Government were also discussed. Nikol Pashinyan stressed that Armenia is ready to unblock regional channels based on the principles of sovereignty, jurisdiction, reciprocity and equality./pp

Emmanuel Macron expressed his country's support for the steps of the Armenian Government aimed at peace and stability, and at the same time welcomed the Crossroads of Peace project./pp

Reference was also made to the social problems of people forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh, and the Armenian Government's housing provision program. In this regard, Nikol Pashinyan and Emmanuel Macron emphasized the consistent support of the international community in addressing and solving the existing problems./pp

The Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of France also discussed issues related to Armenia-EU cooperation. Nikol Pashinyan noted that he expects the continued support of friendly France in Armenia-EU cooperation./pp

At the same time, the Prime Minister of Armenia highly appreciated the role of the EU mission in Armenia and emphasized the important role of France in starting the visa liberalization dialogue with the EU and supporting Armenia through the European Peace Facility.-0-/pp nbsp;/pp nbsp;/p