On a visit to Armenia, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said Paris had agreed to deliver military equipment to Yerevan. Meanwhile, Armenia's parliament voted to join the International Criminal Court, to the dismay of Russia.
Colonna travelled to Armenia on Tuesday after Azerbaijani forces last month swept through the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh and secured the surrender of Armenian separatist forces that had controlled the mountainous region for decades.
"France has given its agreement to the conclusion of future contracts with Armenia which will allow the delivery of military equipment to Armenia so that it can ensure its defence," she told reporters after talks that she said touched upon security and defence.
France's top diplomat declined to provide any details.
"I can't give many details. If I have to go a little further, know that there are things that were already agreed between Armenia and France and that are in progress," Colonna said.
"There is a second category of things that we can do with Armenia," she added, noting that both countries did not seek an escalation in the region.
France, which has a large Armenian diaspora, has traditionally helped mediate the decades-old territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Karabakh.
At the end of August, a group of French politicians lead by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo travelled to mountain pass separating Armenia from Nagorno-Karabach with and Red Cross aid convoy, but were refused entry.
Escalating tensions
Armenian lawmakers approved a key step towards joining the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Tuesday, escalating tensions with the ex-Soviet country's traditional ally Moscow.
The website of the parliament says that Armenia signed the Rome Statute (which defines the ICC) in 1999, but never ratified it.
But when Azerbaijan's army started to reclaim Nagorno-Karabach in 2022, a process "during which the most serious war crimes were committed," discussions on joining the ICC were rebooted, resulting Armenia's parliament backing Rome Statute ratification with a 60-22 vote.
Armenia has said it needs to ratify of the Rome Statute because of concerns connected with the conflict it has been engaged in with neighboring Azerbaijan. https://t.co/HhpwkEUyhe
— Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (@RFERL) October 3, 2023
Until now, only two other former Soviet republics, Georgia and Tajikistan, are party to the ICC.
Russia, which regards Armenia as a traditional ally and maintains a force of some 2,000 peace keepers in the country, said it was "wrong" to ratify the treaty to join The Hague-based court.
In March the ICC issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin over the war in Ukraine and the illegal deportation of children to Russia.
ICC members are expected to make the arrest if the Russian leader sets foot on their territory.
The vote illustrated a growing chasm between Moscow and Yerevan, which has grown angry with the Kremlin over its perceived inaction over Armenia's long-standing confrontation with Azerbaijan.
(with newswires)
