Paris agrees to deliver military equipment to Armenia

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on a visit to Armenia on Tuesday that Paris agreed to deliver military equipment to the small South Caucasus nation.

Colonna travelled to Armenia after Azerbaijani forces last month swept through the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh and secured the surrender of Armenian separatist forces that had controlled the mountainous region for decades.

“France has given its agreement to the conclusion of future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defense,” she told reporters after talks that she said touched upon security and defense.

France’s top diplomat declined to provide any details.

“I can’t give many details. If I have to go a little further, know that there are things that were already agreed between Armenia and France and that are in progress,” Colonna said.

“There is a second category of things that we can do with Armenia,” she added, noting that both countries did not seek an escalation in the region.

France, which has a large Armenian diaspora, has traditionally helped mediate the decades-old territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh.