YEREVAN. - France wants the European Union to establish closer relations with the countries of the South Caucasus, beginning with Armenia, said President of France Nicolas Sarkozy in the interview to Mediamax news agency.

This region is of strategic importance for the European Union and associative and partner ties with the European Union will facilitate prosperity, strengthening of democracy and dialogue in all three Caucasus countries, he added.

"The European Union has recently reinforced its role in the South Caucasus and I am very glad about it. At first, the EU did it through the European Neighborhood Policy, and then within the Eastern Partnership which France backed from the very beginning," stressed Sarkozy.

As for the Karabakh conflict resolution, he noted that there is one format to bolster the efforts of the international community for the settlement of the Karabakh problem - the OSCE Minsk Group.

"Each of three Co-Chair states enjoys the confidence of two sides and is involved in the process of definition of conditions for conflict settlement. But the Armenians and Azerbaijanis themselves should find this path first of all. We can help, escort but we can never establish peace instead of you," Sarkozy added.