On April 24 Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan received the delegation led by Bruno Retailleau, Chairman of the Group for International awareness on Nagorno-Karabakh of the French Senate, the head of the "Republicans" faction. Тhe Chairman of the France-Armenia Friendship Group Gilbert-Luc Devinaz was also among the members of the delegation.

The interlocutors discussed issues of regional security and stability.

Ararat Mirzoyan expressed gratitude for the solidarity and principled positions of France, including the Senate, on issues of importance to Armenia, especially since the 44-day war in 2020. The Minister stressed the need for France's continued engagement and efforts and the imperative to resolve all existing problems to achieve lasting peace and stability in the South Caucasus without the use of force or the threat of use of force.

Bruno Retailleau spoke about his visit to the Lachin corridor the day before and his conclusions.

Both sides touched upon the situation resulting from the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor. Azerbaijan's steps to illegally set up a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor, aimed at subjecting the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing, were deemed unacceptable. Minister Mirzoyan noted that anti-Armenian hate speech in Azerbaijan at the highest level as well as the destruction of the Armenian cultural, historical and religious heritage are also a vivid manifestation of that policy of Azerbaijan.

On the occasion of the 108th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, the imperative to prevent new genocides and crimes against humanity was stressed.

During the meeting, bilateral cooperation between Armenia and France, based on common values and historical friendship between the two peoples, as well as issues related to the partnership agenda between Armenia and the EU, were also discussed.