France and Armenia presidents discuss Karabakh, economic ties

President of France Francois Hollande and his Armenian counterpart who is in France on a working visit met in Paris on Monday.

Francois Hollande and Serzh Sargsyan discussed a wide range of issues related to Armenian-French agenda, addressing regional and international problems and challenges.

Serzh Sargsyan thanked Hollande for the role of France in the OSCE Minsk Group and for initiating a meeting aimed at resolving the conflict.

The two sides reiterated that the Armenian-French relations are of a special character based on common values of century-old friendship between the Armenian and French people. The relations are strengthened year after year by high-level visits, interparliamentary close ties, expansion and development of decentralized cooperation, and cooperation within international organizations.

Serzh Sargsyan and Francois Hollande noted with satisfaction that, apart from the political dialogue at the highest level, the economic ties are actively developing and strengthening. The volume of French investments in the Armenian economy reaches $1 billion.

French President thanked Serzh Sargsyan for Armenia's participation in international peacekeeping missions, as well as readiness of the Armenian side to participate in the actions in African region under the auspices of UN.

Touching upon the Karabakh settlement, President Sargsyan said that Armenia had always advocated the settlement of the conflict by peaceful negotiations, and said that he appreciated the efforts of the leaders of OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing states that are aimed at progress in talks, establishment of peace and stability. (News.am)