On behalf of the President of the Republic of Armenia, Vahagn Khachaturyan, and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, a state dinner was held in honor of the President of the Republic of France, Emmanuel Macron, this evening at the Presidential Palace.
A state awards ceremony was held before the state dinner. By the decree of the President of the Republic of Armenia, for his significant personal contribution to the strengthening and development of traditional friendly relations between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of France, and the expansion and deepening of cooperation between the two countries, the President of the Republic of France, Emmanuel Macron, was awarded the Order of Glory. By the decision of the President of the Republic of France Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan were awarded the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor. This award is the highest order of the Legion of Honor established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.
In accordance with the ceremony, the leaders of the two countries made mutual toasts and touched upon Armenian-French relations and the prospects for their development.
Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan’s toast at the state dinner given in honor of the President of the Republic of France Emmanuel Macron
“Honorable President of the Republic of France,
Honorable President of the Republic of Armenia,
Distinguished members of the delegation of the French President on his state visit,
Distinguished representatives of the state authorities of the Republic of Armenia,
Today, a very important and great event is taking place for us. We are dealing with a situation in which the President of a country that is a traditional and loyal friend of our country, including a personal friend and comrade of mine, today’s event has a double significance. I have had many occasions to say what a great contribution President Macron has made to the current level of France-Armenia relations, which we will record by adopting the Armenia-France Strategic Partnership Document as an important outcome of President Macron’s state visit.
But I also want to emphasize that the stage in which we are today, which today has the support of the people of the Republic of Armenia, and which is clearly the right and development path for the Republic of Armenia, is when the Republic of Armenia has finally overcome the survival agenda and entered the logic of the development agenda. Today, we are building a new country with a new logic, a new ideology, a new architecture based on the ideology of the Real Armenia, based on our best traditions and values, which, by the way, I think became visible today during the opening ceremony of the European Political Community summit, where our history, our value system were emphasized and were at the core of everything.
But I want us all to face a situation where, at our stage today, the role of President Macron is pivotal. The architecture of our reality and regional strategy today was, in fact, formed during the quadrilateral meeting in Prague on October 6, 2022. To those who weren’t in the meeting room, I apologize. Still, I cannot say that I fully, truly, and deeply know President Macron, because what I saw that day, such conviction, such devotion, such principle, such consistency, such conviction, such steadfastness, such determination, such decision that history must be made, I have not read in any book. If someone had told me the events of that day, I would not have believed it. I also had the opportunity to tell President Macron yesterday that, looking back on all that, I have difficulty believing everything I saw with my own eyes and everything I heard in person. There are people in the hall today who were also present, and they will testify to it all. This was a pillar on which our reality today, today’s peace, and today’s perspective, which we love more and more with each passing day, are built.
It is obvious that in the person of President Macron, we are dealing with a politician of the French Republic. Still, that meeting and the events of that day make it unequivocal to me that Emmanuel Macron is also a statesman of the Republic of Armenia. The medal that was awarded to President Macron today, and if there is courtesy in that decision, it only expresses a small percentage of the essence of that decision. In fact, the Republic of Armenia expresses its appreciation with the highest award for the landmark service that President Macron has rendered to the Republic of Armenia, to its statehood, security, sovereignty, and independence.
Before that, before October 6, 2022, after October 6, 2022, when it seemed that the Republic of Armenia had no hope and support, and no force or individual could hold our hand, we felt and touched President Macron’s hand in the most difficult moment. He held our hand tightly, we held his hand tightly, and today our numerous successes, starting with army building, continuing with our foreign relations, our democratic achievements, economic successes, some of which, by the way, will also be recorded in the results of President Macron’s state visit, are an expression of his personal contribution, especially the expression of his personal contribution. Having held the position of Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia for eight years, I do not remember a single case when I shared any concerns or questions related to the state interests of the Republic of Armenia with President Macron and did not receive his response, his answer, in the fastest possible, most objective and concrete manner, which was expressed in concrete, tangible, verifiable, visible decisions and steps.
Honorable President of the Republic of Armenia,
Dear guests,
I propose that we raise a glass to Emmanuel Macron, the President of the Republic of France, a statesman of the Republic of France and the Republic of Armenia, a great friend, brother, and relative of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people.
Mr. President, a toast to you.”
Toast of the President of the Republic of France Emmanuel Macron during the state dinner hosted by the President of the Republic of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan in honor of the President of the French Republic
“Mr. President
Mr. Prime Minister,
Speaker of the National Assembly,
Ladies and Gentlemen Ministers,
Ladies and Gentlemen Deputies,
Ladies and Gentlemen Ambassadors,
Ladies and Gentlemen Advisors,
Dear friends,
Thank you. First of all, thank you for the words you just said, Mr. Prime Minister, dear Nikol. They touched me deeply. And what you recalled, those memories, indeed, from the fall of 2022, I have not forgotten anything from that night, and only two years had passed since the beginning of the war. The situation was very unstable, and you showed great courage by deciding for your country.
But I want to say one simple thing. First, France, in my opinion, has done its duty in such moments. It is true that many in Europe or elsewhere wondered why we were supporting Armenia so unconditionally. By the way, to reassure you, I would like to mention that after the meeting that the Prime Minister referred to, I was almost absent from all subsequent meetings until the conflict was resolved with President Aliyev. Now the situation has been resolved and, fortunately, has calmed down. But if we were there at that time to say all this, it was because it was just. It was just. And throughout history, the struggle waged by your country, your people, has always been a just struggle: against genocide, against invasions, and in those difficult moments, against threats to your territorial integrity and sovereignty.
The idea of peace that we have for ourselves is to be on the side of those struggles where the international order is defended. Even when it is not in our interests at the moment, even when calculating approaches would dictate turning a blind eye and looking the other way, even when many were calculating cubic meters of gas or the benefits arising from more profitable contracts with other powers.
And it is France’s honor to be with countries that have never betrayed them, never betrayed, to be with people who have never betrayed themselves, and to stand by a just struggle.
Our history goes a very long way back. There are women and men in this hall whose family history is tied to relations between our two countries: some emigrated several generations ago, others during their lifetimes, and some discovered Armenia and loved it without roots because there is something between our two countries, our two peoples, our two civilizations that says exactly this. Why did French intellectuals love Armenia? Many had never set foot here because it was unbearable for them to see this country torn apart by one empire after another. Why did the French fleet come here, not to see or condemn, but to save, because they thought that this was the just struggle that the French people had entrusted to them? Why did we accept so many people in those years, and why did many of them later fight for France? And we had the great honor, and you were with us, to give a worthy place in the Pantheon to Misak Manushyan and Meline, who embody in themselves what the Armenians have given to France.
It is always the same story. When the struggle is just, we are there, next to each other. When it comes to us, to the universal, to the values that we carry, we are there, next to each other. And we know each other. I consider the awards I received today a great honor, and I want to say that they are an important milestone in the history that binds us. Because it was you, because it was us, this is the bond between Armenia and France.
That is why the choices you have made – the choice of full independence, peace, stability in this volatile region, Europe, and prosperity – are the choices we support. Because we consider them once again fair, because we consider them good for your country, because we believe that they meet the requirements of the moment, the geopolitical and strategic coherence that Armenia and Europe need. And because we want to be part of that path.
The strategic partnership agreement to be signed tomorrow is the result of the defensive efforts we have made alongside you in recent years, because our relations have never been at this level. It will open new economic opportunities between our countries and strengthen educational, linguistic, and cultural ties. And many who are here will continue to write that history.
But let me say, Mr. Prime Minister, Mr. President, that for us, what you call the Real Armenia is inseparable from the Armenia of the dream, because many dream of it every day. You have chosen a peaceful and prosperous Armenia in Europe. And it is that Armenia, in all its shades, the Armenia that carries our common history, which we love and fully accept. Because on the other side of Europe, on the other side of the ocean, never forget that there are people who love your country and your people and always look at it as a younger sister who has given us so much and who we will always be by your side. We reach out to each other. This is the European future that you have chosen.
So let me thank you tonight for the courage you have shown in recent years to lead your country in this region as a country of peace and responsibility. To want peace when you are under attack requires great courage and audacity. And as a country that Europe has chosen. Now it is Europe’s turn to show that it lives up to that choice.
Allow me, in turn, to raise a glass to your country, to our centuries-old bonds of friendship, and to you, Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minister, as well as to the friendship that unites us.”
