Radar Armenia‘s interlocutor is Shahan Gantaharyan, an international scholar.
– The Minister of Defense of France visited Armenia for the first time in history. What kind of message is this, especially to Azerbaijan and Russia?
– This visit should be considered in the foreign policy not only of France, but also of the European Union. There is a coordinated policy between Washington-Brussels and, of course, the US-Europe’s most pillar states. In some places, drop by drop, in other areas, to more actively penetrate the regions considered classically Russian domains. Specifically, the message is that Paris has decided to be present in the region in civil, political, diplomatic, and military directions.
– The first batch of French defense weapons is already in Armenia. The two countries’ defense ministers also signed new agreements on Armenian-French cooperation today. In your opinion, can this situation become a deterrent or an aggravating circumstance for Azerbaijan?
– Naturally, Moscow and Baku will not take these military-political processes calmly. In the case of Ankara, the view may be different. On the one hand, it is negative that Yerevan is an acquisition of other strategic partners; on the other hand, he will calmly follow the process of exiting Armenia’s dependence on Russia in stages. Ankara sees the removal of Russian bases from its border regions as the end of all these.
– France will have a military adviser in Armenia who will always be in Armenia. From the point of view of security, what issue is being resolved?
– Military attaché, military adviser,these are the braids of loops that will continue. These appointments will be made in parallel with the step-by-step transfer of French armaments.
– How will Russia react to this new phase of Armenian-French relations? What developments should we expect?
– Warnings directed at Yerevan at the declarative level will continue, raising the possibility of severe immediate consequences. Moscow will use this to continue its cooperation with Baku. The delay will continue at the diplomatic level. Yerevan will make statements, Moscow will demand clarifications, CSTO membership will be frozen, the removal of Russian border guards from the airport will be demanded, and so on, for quite some time.
– Borell expressed his desire to visit Armenia. What significance will that visit have from the point of view of the rapprochement of EU-Armenia relations?
– There will be diplomatic activities to revitalize EU-Yerevan relations, and the visits will continue. Therefore, as an answer to the first question, I mentioned that France’s positions and steps should be considered in the context of pan-European politics. Brussels will give new capacity to the cooperation with Yerevan in different directions.
