By Aram Danielyan

The decision with whom to cooperate and at what level is the sovereign right of Armenia, and it derives from the interests of Armenia and its people. Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan stated this in a joint press briefing with French Minister for the Armed Forces, Sebastien Lecornu, in Yerevan on Friday.

"As for Iran, the Armenian-French cooperation is on behalf of Armenia and is not directed against anyone. It is our right to cooperate with both France and Iran. Our French partners respect our cooperation with other partners, our Iranian partners respect our cooperation with other partners. I believe that Russia should do the same. Armenia has no ‘taboo’ on cooperation arising from the interests of Armenia. This cooperation is not directed against any country," added Papikyan.

He noted that after the events of September 2022, Armenia has set a task to diversify its technico-military cooperation.

"At that time, the sovereign territory of Armenia was subjected to [military] aggression, the sovereign territories of Armenia were occupied [by Azerbaijan]. When we talk about obligations, we should talk about the obligations of both sides," explained Papikyan.

"After these events, we decided to diversify the technico-military cooperation. Friendly India was the first to respond to our readiness, and friendly France—the first among the European partners.

France's response and cooperation with this country is very important to us, and we appreciate it very much. The first cooperation in the defense sector during these 1.5 years enables to say that our cooperation will enable to plan for the long term," concluded the minister of defense of Armenia.