President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan on Wednesday met with President of the French National Assembly, Claude Bartolone.

Noting that this official visit to France is taking place within the framework of the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Armenia and France, President Sargsyan considered this as a good opportunity to sum up together with the French leadership the various success recorded during more than two decades, as well as discuss the further actions, the press-service of the Armenian President’s Office informed Armenian News – NEWS.am.

The interlocutors underscored the role of the parliamentary diplomacy in strengthening interstate relations, expanding the agenda of cooperation, and deepening of friendship between the Armenian and French peoples. They also expressed satisfaction with the activity of the France-Armenia Interparliamentary Friendship Group.

Apart from this, Sargsyan and Bartolone stressed the close cooperation between the parliamentarians of both countries also in the parliamentary assemblies of international organizations.   

At the meeting, the Armenian President highly appreciated the position of the French National Assembly and that of personally Claude Bartolone in respect of the international recognition, condemnation and criminalization of the Armenian Genocide.

Furthermore, Sargsyan praised the efforts of the OSCE Minsk Group, including those exerted by France as a Minsk Group co-chair, towards the peaceful settlement of the conflict and ensuring security and stability in the South Caucasus. He stressed that the visits of the French MPs to Artsakh give the international community an opportunity to get a full idea and correctly understand the entire essence of the just struggle of the Artsakh people for liberty, protection of human rights and self-determination, which is the inalienable right of any nation. 

In this context, the interlocutors underscored the importance of the France-Artsakh Friendship Group, which, according to the President, contributes to the just settlement of the Artsakh issue.

Apart from the bilateral Armenian-French relations, Sargsyan and Bartolone also discussed the relations between Armenia and EU, and the prospects for the development of these ties.