YEREVAN. – There is a saying that friends are like stars, and they can be counted only at night. And we can say that a deep dark “night” arrived in Armenia in November of last year. President of the French Senate, Gerard Larcher, on Saturday said this during his joint briefing after his meeting with the speaker of the National Assembly (NA) of Armenia, Ararat Mirzoyan, in the NA.

At that time, according to the French lawmaker, the French Senate made a decision through joint efforts, putting aside all political differences, to unite and start working together to pass a resolution whereby the French government shall recognize the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

Larcher reminded that 20 years have passed since the day when then French President Jacques Chirac publicized the law in which France officially recognized the Armenian Genocide. "Living memory is the best barrier against the repetition of the tragic chapters of history. Our cooperation has also passed the path of mutual trust. It is the belief in the future of Armenia, the belief in its youth which received such a strong blow last fall. We think about the fallen, the wounded, the displaced, the prisoners of war, their families because these are not personal tragedies, but collective [ones].

We also express our belief in Armenia’s democracy, which has given you a special place in this region. It is a democracy that has been severely tested, trampled on, but, nonetheless, you remain steadfast," said Gerard Larcher.