Armenia's security problems will not be solved by signing contracts for the supply of several types of weapons. Artak Zakaryan

If Armenia really wants to take steps to reduce its military and defense obligations with Russia, then France is expected to solve the difficult problems of filling Armenia's military and defense vacuum. Is today's France ready for this, it is difficult to say. Artak Zakaryan, a member of the General Assembly of the RPA, wrote about this on his Facebook page.

He specifically noted: "After the collapse of the Soviet Union, unlike other European countries, France assumed a special role in the Caucasus region. He became the co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk Group for peace negotiations on Artsakh. That status allowed France to play an important role in the South Caucasus for three decades.

France also played a significant role in 2008. In establishing a ceasefire in Georgia during the 5-day war. In addition, France was one of the important European supporters of Georgia in the process of rapprochement with Euro-Atlantic structures, including NATO and the EU.

Relations between France and Azerbaijan have also developed. French companies in 1995-2019. about 2.2 billion dollars have been invested in the economy of Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan, in its turn, invested about 2.6 billion dollars in the French economy.

The visits of Presidents Jacques Chirac (2006), Nicolas Sarkozy (2011), Francois Hollande (2014 and 2015), and Emmanuel Macron (2018) to Armenia were vivid examples of Armenian-French relations. France actively supported the signing of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between Armenia and the EU and advocated the development of relations with Armenia. France also provided effective support in the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide. During the tenure of the three presidents of Armenia: Levon Ter-Petrosyan, Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan, while maintaining and developing close strategic relations with the Russian Federation, Armenia was able to complete and advance the foreign policy agendas emerging with France and other Western countries.

But gradually this approach changed as a result of new geopolitical developments. In recent years, the foreign policy of France in the South Caucasus has also changed. The main factors were the deterioration of relations between Armenia and Russia that began as a result of Pashinyan's coming to power, the 44-day Artsakh war and the resulting complete depopulation, as well as the increase in tensions between France and Turkey in the Mediterranean, French support for Cyprus and Greece, and the escalation of tensions between France and Azerbaijan. , which can be said to have prompted France to change its balanced policy in our region.

Nikol's government, being dissatisfied with the approaches of Russia and CSTO, began to get closer to France, Greece and India. 2023 in October, an agreement was signed between the RA Ministry of Defense and the French company Thales to purchase three new GM-200 radar systems. The Minister of Defense of France Sebastien Lecorne, who was present at the ceremony, announced that France has decided to help Armenia to strengthen its anti-aircraft defense capabilities, as well as to sign an agreement on the future supply of "Mistral" anti-aircraft missile systems. It was later revealed that France will also equip Armenia with 50 armored personnel carriers in order to provide the country's ground forces with a high level of protection and multi-functional capabilities.

At the propaganda level, an impression has been formed that Armenia seems to want to fill the security vacuum with the help of France. Signing various defense agreements is actually a form of preparation so that Armenia has an alternative in case of leaving the CSTO (which I do not believe).