Speaking at a joint press conference with Speaker of Parliament Alen Simonyan after their meeting in Yerevan, the President of the National Assembly of France Yaël Braun-Pivet said France stands with brotherly countries whose territorial integrity is being threatened.

Yaël Braun-Pivet said she had to come to Armenia because there are tensions which get escalated and make Armenia vulnerable. “And we, France, must stand with brotherly countries whose territorial integrity is being threatened and attacked,” she said.

Yaël Braun-Pivet said the Azerbaijani provocations against Armenia in September reverberated in France and the French parliament reacted to it. Particularly, a resolution was adopted demanding Azerbaijan to end its aggression against Armenia and establish lasting peace in South Caucasus.

“As you know, France always stood with Armenia in strengthening the country’s sovereignty and independence. The vigilance of the government and president Emmanuel Macron, and overall our country is absolute,” she said, adding that France stands in solidarity with Armenia.

She added that France is deeply concerned over the situation in Nagorno Karabakh as well. “We are concerned because the blockade is creating a worsening humanitarian situation,” she said.

Yaël Braun-Pivet said together with her delegation they will meet with several NGO representatives in Armenia tomorrow who are working with those affected by the blockade. She said that the road must be opened, power supply and internet access must be restored.

“We will do everything to avoid a humanitarian disaster. I’d also like to express our concern over the historic and cultural heritage which is today endangered and could face destruction. Around 1500 Armenian cultural and historic heritage monuments must be preserved. France will make efforts together with UNESCO in this direction. Heritage is our history. We are convinced that it is necessary to restore dialogue between all parties and reach a peaceful and sustainable solution,” Yaël Braun-Pivet said.

The President of the National Assembly of France also highly appreciated the inter-parliamentary agreement signed with the Armenian Speaker on further strengthening friendly ties and relations between the two parliaments.