BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 25. France has publicly committed to providing Armenia with ongoing military assistance, as affirmed by the agreements inked on October 23. This assistance not only encompasses multiple arms supply contracts, some potentially exceeding several hundred million euros in value but also entails the deployment of French military personnel for training Armenian forces in Yerevan.
"During her visit to Yerevan on October 3, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna confirmed that Paris had "agreed" to "supply military equipment to Armenia to bolster its defense." Nevertheless, the specifics of this aid were not detailed, and it seemed primarily aimed at placating the significant Armenian diaspora in France, estimated at 500,000 individuals," an article in the French Le Monde newspaper says.
With this newfound clarity, the French media is raising questions about how Armenia, a nation grappling with economic challenges, will manage to fund this "assistance".
In the interim, French taxpayers' funds appear to be channeling into the resurgence of Armenian revanchism and destabilizing the broader South Caucasus. It's apparent that Paris does not perceive any advantage in mediating relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Meanwhile, the Armenian lobby continues to propagate unsubstantiated narratives about a non-existent threat to Armenia's territorial integrity and fictitious "ethnic cleansing" by Azerbaijan.
As France ponders how Armenia will settle its financial obligations, it's essential to reflect on the extent of the French enthusiasm to become patrons of a potential new conflict.