Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan on Saturday received deputies of the French National Assembly Gi Tesie, Valerie Buaye, Guillaume Kasparian, Jean-Pierre Cubertafon, Pierre Ouzoulias, Mohammad Lakhila and Daniel Kazarian, as reported the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia.

Minister Mnatsakanyan greeted the French parliamentarians and expressed gratitude for their resoluteness and consistency for further strengthening and development of the French-Armenian friendship. The minister also highlighted the major role that the French parliamentarians play in further expansion and enrichment of the French-Armenian agenda.

The role of the International Organization of La Francophonie and the cooperation established within the scope of the Organization were also touched upon during the meeting. The foreign minister stated that the Organization serves as a good platform for international and regional cooperation and emphasized that Armenia, as a country chairing the Francophonie Summit, will make its crucial contribution to the advancement and dissemination of Francophone values.

The Nagorno-Karabakh issue was also touched upon. Mnatsakanyan stated that Armenia highly appreciates France’s support to the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict as a co-chairing country of the OSCE Minsk Group.

The French parliamentarians’ visit to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) and their meetings in Artsakh were also in focus during the meeting. In this context, the foreign minister expressed gratitude to the French deputies for their principled position and determination to respect human rights and stressed that Artsakh is first and foremost the people who should have access to all human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination.