Paris' pro-Armenian position harms Armenia itself Revelations of Yerevan experts

Despite France's continuous "sisterly" support, sober-minded people in Armenia nevertheless realize that Paris is not ready to go beyond its statements. According to Verelq.am, France's support is purely verbal and does not solve the problem of Armenia's security, which has deteriorated sharply since its defeat in the Second Karabakh War. This is the opinion of some Armenian experts and politicians, commenting on France's pro-Armenian positioning in Armenia's conflict with Azerbaijan.

Amid the political excitement, some experts still pragmatically consider the issue with the resolutions of the Senate and the National Assembly in the context of promoting the geopolitical interests of France in the South Caucasus. Obviously, the adopted resolutions are of recommendatory nature and do not oblige the French government to take any specific measures.

Paris' harsh rhetoric has not gone unnoticed. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev used this circumstance to cancel his December 7 meeting with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian in Brussels due to Armenia's desire to include Macron in it. Aliyev justified his decision by Paris' reaction to the recent escalation of the conflict between his country and Armenia.

France's harsh positioning in Armenia's ruling circles is also perceived ambiguously. Behind the scenes, some of the elite even see this as a danger of disrupting negotiations on the European platform, which has actually become the main platform for the convergence of the positions of the conflicting parties.

"For now, France simply states that it sympathizes with Armenians and Armenia, but it is not ready to go beyond words. For example, the French authorities point to Armenia's membership in the CSTO and Yerevan's alliance with Moscow to all requests from the Armenian side to provide military support to Yerevan, including the provision of certain types of weapons, for example, air defence systems and MLRS, which Armenia urgently needs. As a NATO member-country cannot provide military assistance to a country that is in military and political alliance with Russia," sources in the government circles told Verelq.am.

Armenian expert Tatul Hakobyan sees no particular benefit for Armenia in the verbal support of France.

"By adopting the Senate-level resolution, France actually gave Azerbaijan an excuse to reject Paris as a mediator in the negotiations. Armenia gained nothing from this," Hakobyan said. - Moreover, it damages Armenia's interests because if the talks fail, the situation may escalate on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and in Karabakh."

According to Hakobyan, France's actions, which are widely welcomed in Armenia and the diaspora, have in fact led to the loss of its mediating role in the talks.

"I think this has nothing to do with Armenian interests. France may take steps against Azerbaijan and Türkiye, but in fact, it has excluded itself from the negotiation process," Hakobyan said, adding that France's harsh rhetoric would be beneficial to Armenia if it were followed by concrete steps. "For example, sanctions against Azerbaijan or providing Armenia with arms. We don't see any of that," he explained.

Human rights activist and dissident Vardan Harutyunyan is of the same opinion.

"It would be much more useful for us if a country like France were restrained in its support for Armenia, did not show obvious partiality, and remained a weighty mediator, organizing and leading the conversation," Harutyunyan believes. - That would have been much more useful to Armenia. As a result, we have a friendly country today, but during crucial negotiations for us, that friend cannot be at the table."