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On December 8, the RA NA Vice President Vahe Enfiajyan met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of France to Armenia Jonathan Lacote.

Welcoming the guest Vahe Enfiajyan expressed his gratitude to the authorities and friendly people of France for the efforts aimed at overcoming the situation during the war unleashed on September 27 by the Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, as well as during the post-war period and for the solution of the problem through peaceful negotiations. He underlined that the direct involvement of Turkey and the mercenaries’ participation was a fact, and however unlike France the civilized world in some cases did not adequately condemn that reality. In this context, Vahe Enfiajyan highly assessed the adoption of the resolution on the recognition of Artsakh Republic by the two chambers of the Parliament of France. The Ambassador in his turn has noted that it is a message of solidarity towards Armenia and is of political great importance.

In the process of the NK conflict settlement process, the NA Vice President highlighted the format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs, underlining the key role of France. Vahe Enfiajyan has documented that often the problem is presented as territorial dispute, but in reality, it is a fight for self-determination and an issue for the exercise of the people’s rights.

Touching upon the importance of the statement signed on November 9, the Ambassador noted that by that however all the problems were not solved and in this respect, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have an important work to do. According to Jonathan Lacote, that format gives an opportunity to speak with two sides. As the Ambassador has noted, the negotiations should resume over the issues not included in the statement: the NA status is not specified, the return of the displaced people should be ensured, more stable status should be given to Lachin corridor, the new border between Armenia and Azerbaijan should be strengthened and the Armenian historical-cultural and spiritual heritage should be preserved. The Ambassador also touched upon the problem of the return of the prisoners of war.

The sides touched upon the centuries-old ties and the strong cooperation between the two peoples at different levels.