France has announced the sale of defensive equipment to Armenia as Azerbaijan launched military drills with its ally Turkey.
The deal was announced weeks after Baku seized Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists and amid fears in Yerevan that Azerbaijan might now seek to target southern Armenia.
Speaking to reporters, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said Armenia would buy three Ground Master 200 (GM200) radar systems from the French defence group Thales, without providing financial details.
The system, already used in Ukraine, is known for its "remarkable detection capabilities", Lecornu said at a press conference alongside Armenian Defence Minister Suren Papikyan, who is on a visit in Paris.
The ministers also signed a letter of intent for Armenia's purchase of air defence systems involving Thales and European missile maker MBDA, a spokeswoman for Lecornu told AFP.
Lecornu said the letter of intent involved the purchase of "Mistral-type" equipment, referring to a short-range air defence missile system.
Armenia also signed a contract to buy night-vision goggles from the French group Safran, the defence ministry spokeswoman said.
In a statement, the Armenian defence ministry said that the ministers discussed defence and that the two countries later signed documents relating to "bilateral cooperation".
Diaspora
In early October, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on a visit to Armenia that Paris had agreed to deliver military equipment to the Yerevan
After that announcement, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev refused to meet with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for talks in Spain.
Azerbaijan slammed what it called France's policy of "militarisation" in the South Caucasus.
France, which has a large Armenian diaspora, has helped mediate a decades-old territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
War games
Earlier Monday, Azerbaijan said it had begun joint military drills with its ally Turkey near the border with Armenia.
The Azeri Defence Ministry said "up to 3,000" troops are taking part in the "tactical drills" held in the capital Baku, the Nakhichevan exclave between Iran and Armenia, as well as territories retaken from Armenian separatists.
The exercises, dubbed "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 2023,' involve dozens of artillery weapons and aviation.
Azerbaijan and Turkey kick off joint "Mustafa Kemal Ataturk 2023" military drills in Azerbaijan today with the participation of over 3000 personnel, 130 armoured vehicles, 100 artillery and 20 aircraft of different types (Israeli, Turkish, etc.).
— Nagorno Karabakh Observer (@NKobserver) October 23, 2023
Source: https://t.co/GhQlY3ndZh pic.twitter.com/LW7sI5KOVk
Baku said they were aimed at "ensuring combat interoperability" between the allies.
Talks
Ironically, Armenia and Azerbaijan also engaged in talks Monday in Tehran seeking to ease tensions.
At the meeting, which also included foreign ministers from Turkey, Russia and Iran, the envoys noted a push for peace in the Caucasus.
"This meeting... can be the cornerstone of the path towards establishing peace and ending challenges in the South Caucasus with the participation of regional players and neighbours," said Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The talks are seen as Moscow's attempt to reduce growing Western influence in the Caucasus, a region it has long considered as its backyard.
According to Moscow's original plan, the "3+3 format" was meant to also include Georgia. But Tbilisi, which aspires to join the EU and NATO, has rejected the proposal.
(With newswires)
