In Yerevan, the French president praised Armenia’s decision to weaken ties with Russia. According to him, the country is clearly turning towards the European Union and the political West.
Armenia has chosen the “European path”, French President Emmanuel Macron declared on Monday, pointing to his departure from Russia. TASR informs about it based on the AFP report.
“For decades, we kind of got used to the fact that Armenia was, in a sense, a satellite of Russia,” Macron said during a visit to the Armenian capital, Yerevan. “Armenia has really decided to free itself from this restriction and turn to Europe,” he emphasized.
Macron’s support for Armenia
Macron recalled that France provided material support to Armenia during the conflicts with Azerbaijan. “Russia was not there, just as it is not with Venezuela when problems arise there,” he said. France and Armenia have a long history of close diplomatic relations, and France has a large Armenian diaspora.
Armenia is officially still an ally of Russia and hosts a Russian base on its territory, but the government in Yerevan has limited mutual relations since 2023. He blames Russia that its peacekeeping troops did not intervene during the Azerbaijani offensive in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave originally inhabited by Armenians. In response, Yerevan froze its membership in the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) military alliance. In March 2025, the Armenian parliament approved a draft law by which the country applies for EU membership.
On Monday, Armenia hosted a summit of European Political Community (EPC) leaders. The country is also hosting the first ever EU-Armenia summit.
