The Armenian Foreign Ministry (MFA) has firmly rejected Azerbaijan’s groundless criticism of its recent defense agreement with France, emphasizing the inalienable right of every sovereign nation to maintain a well-equipped and combat-ready military. This affirmation of Armenia’s sovereign rights was articulated in a statement issued on June 19, 2024.
The MFA warned that Azerbaijan “will do everything to disrupt” the peace process’ conclusion with Armenia “in order to launch a new aggression against Armenia after the COP29 summit in Baku in November 2024.”
Azerbaijan has condemned Armenia’s expanding defense cooperation with France as irresponsible, accusing it of “emboldening revanchist forces within Armenia.” Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry went further, denouncing the deal on Tuesday as “another proof of France’s provocative actions in the South Caucasus,” claiming it will create a new regional “hotbed of war.” A senior aide to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev commented that it dealt a serious blow to efforts to end the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.
The statement from the Armenian MFA reads:
“The reaction to the Armenia-France military-technical cooperation by official Baku causes confusion. It is the sovereign right of every state to maintain combat-capable armed forces equipped with modern military assets.
The Republic of Armenia recognizes the territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of all its neighbours. Armenia and Azerbaijan on the highest level agreed that they mutually recognize the territorial integrity and sovereignty of each other based on the 1991 Alma-Ata Declaration. The Republic of Armenia is loyal to this principle and does not have any ambitions beyond its internationally recognized 29,743 square kilometers. The Republic of Armenia has practically proven this approach by the initiative of conducting delimitation in four villages of the Gazakh Region of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Tavush Region of the Republic of Armenia. We call on Azerbaijan to cease the occupation of vital territories of more than 30 villages of the Republic of Armenia.
Azerbaijan’s practice of predicting regional escalations at every opportunity is alarming and comes to prove the analyses made by a number of centers that Azerbaijan will do everything to disrupt the process of concluding a peace agreement with Armenia in order to launch a new aggression against the Republic of Armenia after the COP29 summit in Baku in November 2024.
We draw the attention of the international community to this, as well as to the fact that official Yerevan’s proposal to conclude a peace agreement within 1 month remained without response by official Baku.”
The upcoming 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP29, is scheduled to be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from November 11-22, 2024.
In related defense developments, on June 18, Armenia’s Defense Ministry recently finalized a contract with a French arms manufacturer for an unspecified number of CAESAR self-propelled howitzers. This agreement was reached during a meeting in Paris between the defense ministers of the two countries.
Armenia’s Foreign Minister, Ararat Mirzoyan, has expressed concerns over Baku’s reluctance to recognize Armenia’s borders officially. Conversely, Prime Minister Pashinyan has downplayed the remaining differences between the two nations.
In stark contrast, Azerbaijan, under President Aliyev’s leadership, has escalated its military expenditures, starkly highlighting its aggressive military ambitions despite the end of the 2020 conflict in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). Last year, Azerbaijan’s defense and national security budget was $3.5 billion, compared to Armenia’s defense spending of $1.25 billion in 2023.
Azerbaijan’s objections to French-Armenian military cooperation are not new. In October 2023, Baku criticized a French deal to supply Armenia with Mistral short-range surface-to-air missiles and radar units, alongside promises to bolster Armenia’s air defenses, train its military personnel, and assist in reforming its armed forces.
