French defense minister announces plans to sell defensive weapons to Armenia

France will sell defensive weapons to Armenia, French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu said during the discussion of the French defense budget in the Senate (upper house of parliament).

"The head of state (Emmanuel Macron) has clearly defined that our agenda is the sale of defensive weapons, because our discussions with Armenia are exactly about this," Lecornu said.

He told the senators that he intended to discuss with Armenian Defense Minister Suren Papikyan the issues of finalizing operational and specific cooperation measures.

On October 3, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said at a press conference in Yerevan that Paris is ready to strike a deal with Yerevan on the provision of military equipment.

"France agreed to sign an agreement with Armenia on the provision of military equipment to ensure Yerevan's security," Colonna said. She noted that she could not provide details, but "Paris and Yerevan have already agreed on a number of issues."