Armenia’s Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan on Wednesday received French Ambassador Jonathan Lacote. Current issues of bilateral cooperation and regional security were discussed during the meeting.

Presenting the most recent situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border and the line of contact between the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and Azerbaijani armed forces, the Minister of Defense emphasized the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs Russia, the US, and in particular France—as a UN Security Council, EU, and a NATO member state—in easing the tension and continuing the negotiation process to resolve the Karabakh conflict.

Touching upon the current Turkish-Azerbaijani joint military exercises, Tonoyan noted that from a military point of view, their tactical nature is not a concern, but it is important that these military exercises do not turn into provocative actions in the immediate vicinity of Armenia's borders, defense structures, and other infrastructure. The defense minister stressed that the Armenian side will closely follow the course of these military exercises and further developments.

Reaffirming France's mediating role in an exclusively peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Ambassador Lacote, in his turn, lauded the balanced climate—free from nationalist accentuation and manifestations, as well as calls for war—prevailing in Armenia throughout this period.