YEREVAN. - The arsenal of the Armenian army has significantly increased during the recent five years.
French National Assembly member François Rochebloine, who is also a member of the France-Armenia Friendship Group, said the aforementioned at the meeting with the Armenian National Assembly Speaker Galust Sahakyan on Wednesday.
Welcoming the guest, Sahakyan highly appreciated the friendly ties between the two countries, the Armenian NA press-service reports.
He also underscored the efficient activity of the friendship groups and their contribution to the development of the inter-parliamentary ties.
The Speaker also thanked François Rochebloine for protecting the interests of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh at international platforms. Touching on the international recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Sahakyan noted that the law on the Armenian Genocide recognition, adopted by France in 2001, will become more perfect it is complemented by the law on criminalizing its denial. The NA Speaker expressed hope that the French NA will be consistent in the issue of introducing and adopting the new bill, also considering the commitment of the French President François Hollande.
For his part, François Rochebloine thanked Sahakyan for the warm welcome, expressing satisfaction with the fact that he is in the republic during the festivities of the 25th anniversary of Armenian and Karabakh independence. He also noted that he had also attended the military parade dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the independence of Armenia. “As a friend of your country, I can state that the Armenian army arsenal has significantly grown during the recent five years,” the French MP said.
Touching on the recognition of the Armenian Genocide, Rochebloine noted that he believes that despite the existing difficulties, the French Senate will adopt the law combining the adoption and criminalization of the Armenian Genocide.
Referring to the four-day April war, the French MP expressed hope that nothing like that will every recur. According to him, this was the 13th time he had visited Nagorno-Karabakh. After the April events the MP visited Talish and Mataghis villages and learnt about the situation on the ground.
During the meeting, the interlocutors also talked about the constitutional reforms in Armenia, the upcoming parliamentary elections and a number of other issues of mutual interest.
