I come to Goris with great pleasure. For the delegation of French senators who were here on April 23, 2023, at that time we realized what it means to be a country at war or under attack. Member of the French Senate, Gilbert-Luc Devinaz, stated this in his remarks at the 5th Armenia-France Decentralized Cooperation Forum Monday in Goris city of Armenia’s Syunik Province.

“Armenia was not at war, but it was attacked by Azerbaijan. We met with the mayor of Goris, who left us during lunch, left with the [Syunik] provincial governor because at that moment there was an incident on the border. A reporter asked, ‘How do you, the French Senate, help Armenia?’ I responded that Armenia must be helped to increase [its] security, so that it has sufficient means of military defense to protect its borders.

From that moment on, we made a joint decision in the Senate, which was signed by all senators and which required our executive branch [of power] to support Armenia, to provide Armenia with the appropriate military resources to ensure its defense. I want to thank our executive [branch] of power for listening to us.

If we want the Armenian and French communities to continue decentralized cooperation, Armenia must be able to live within its borders, in peace,” added the French senator.