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French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna is in Armenia to examine the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave in Azerbaijan which until two weeks ago had a sizeable ethnic Armenian population. But now the enclave is almost empty, as more than 100,000 of its former residents have crossed the border and fled to Armenia.
Colonna is the first Western minister to visit Armenia since Baku’s operation, and says she’s there “to reaffirm France’s support to Armenia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity”.
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The top French diplomat will also be assessing Armenia’s needs as it faces a huge influx of refugees, as well as the possible threat of Azerbaijani military operations on its territory.
That fear is compounded by the sense that France – and the West more generally – did not take a strong position on Nagorno-Karabakh, which could serve to embolden the Azerbaijani if they decide to venture beyond their borders.
So what is the purpose of this visit? Can France offer Armenia any kind of security guarantees? Is the EU poised to step in and sanction Baku? And what will become of the more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians who have been forced to flee?
Produced by Charles Wente, Josephine Joly and Imen Mellaz.
Source: France24
