Pashinyan reveals details from talks with Macron, contacts with Russia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan met with the Armenian community in France on Tuesday, June 1 and revealed details about his meeting with French president Emmanuel Macron and his contacts with the Russian side.

According to Pashinyan, France is inclined to push for stability in the South Caucasus, Armenpress reports. He maintained that Macron is interested in boosting the involvement of international organizations, including the OSCE Minsk Group, in ensuring stability and security in the region.

"Several days ago I made a concrete proposal during a Security Council meeting about overcoming the current situation, and this approach is acceptable for France”, Pashinyan said.

The caretaker PM said that he has discussed with Macron the steps necessary for resuming the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict within the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship.

Pashinyan also weighed in on Moscow's role, noting that Russia is Armenia’s number one security partner and a strategic ally.

“We are in constant touch with our Russian partners. I had a phone talk with Russian President [Vladimir Putin on May 31] and can say that we, in fact, share the same approach over the resolution of the situation, that the Azerbaijani armed forces must pull back from Armenia’s border," the acting PM said.

He added that Yerevan expects Moscow to "clearly formulate this position."

“Moreover, the maps we have, which were ratified by Soviet Armenia and Soviet Azerbaijan, are identical to the maps existing in the Russian archives, and when this fact is established, Azerbaijan must pull back its troops from that sections. If they fail to comply, Article 4 of the CSTO Charter must enter into force, according to which aggression against one member state is aggression against all member states. And as a first step we expect that both Russia and the CSTO will clearly and publicly express a position over the matter,” Pashinyan said.