It is important for Azerbaijani-Turkish military drills not to turn into provocative actions on Armenian border: Defense Minister

Armenia’s Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan received today French Ambassador to Armenia Jonathan Lacote.

During the meeting the interlocutors discussed current issues of bilateral cooperation and regional security.

Presenting the recent situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border and the line of contact between the Artsakh and Azerbaijani armed forces, the minister emphasized the role of the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs Russia, the USA, and France – as a UN Security Council, EU, and a NATO member state in particular – in easing the tension and continuing the negotiation process to resolve the Karabakh conflict.

Referring to the current Turkish-Azerbaijani joint military exercises, Tonoyan noted that from a military point of view, their tactical nature is not a concern, but it is important that these military exercises do not turn into provocative actions in the immediate vicinity of Armenia's borders, defense structures, and other infrastructure. The defense minister stressed that the Armenian side will closely follow the course of these military exercises and further developments.

The ambassador, in his turn, reaffirmed France's mediating role in an exclusively peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, highly assessed the balanced climate - free from nationalist accentuation and manifestations, as well as calls for war - prevailing in Armenia throughout this period.