Armenia and France: Strengthening Ties Amid Regional Tensions?

Virtual Event

After losing two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, Armenia is seeking new allies in Western Europe. Disillusionment with Moscow’s inaction during the 2023 blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and recent conflicts has driven Armenia to reconsider its foreign alliances. Armenia’s growing partnership with France, marked by French Foreign Minister Stéphane Séjourné’s recent visit and enhanced military cooperation, has sparked tensions with both Azerbaijan and Russia. Meanwhile, questions arise over Azerbaijan’s strategic goals, including its energy exports to Europe and its support for New Caledonia, against the backdrop of Armenia’s Western pivot.

This seminar will address the pressing issues facing the South Caucasus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan today. Key questions include: Is France prepared to replace Russia as the peace guarantor for Armenia and Azerbaijan? What drives Azerbaijan’s support for the people of New Caledonia? How would Azerbaijan react if France supplied Armenia with modern weaponry and technology? What steps can France take to foster peace and stability in the region, especially given the prevailing speculation that Russia is primarily interested in maintaining its military presence in the South Caucasus?”

Speakers:

Marie Dumoulin is the director of the Wider Europe programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to joining ECFR, she worked as a French career diplomat. She held a number of positions in French diplomatic missions abroad, including in Turkmenistan, Algeria, and Germany, and was seconded to the German Foreign Ministry during the German OSCE chairmanship. She has worked with the policy planning staff (CAPS) and headed the Russia and Eastern Europe Department of the French Foreign Ministry. She has extensive experience with settlement processes for protracted conflicts in Europe’s Eastern neighborhood. She holds a PhD from the Paris Institute for Political Science (Sciences Po).

Ahmad Alili is a researcher in international public policy and regional security of the South Caucasus, the EU’s Eastern Partnership countries, and neighboring regional powers. He is part of several peacebuilding initiatives supported by the EU, UN, and NATO’s Partnership for Peace Consortium. Currently, he is the director of the Caucasus Policy Analysis Centre (CPAC), a Baku-based independent think tank promoting regional integration in the South Caucasus. He is also a lecturer at the Academy of Public Administration on the role of nonstate actors in regional security, geopolitics, public management, and good governance.

Alexander Iskandaryan is a prominent expert on politics, nationalism, and the contemporary history of Armenia, the South Caucasus, and Eurasia. He is a political scientist and the Director of the Caucasus Institute in Yerevan, Armenia. He has authored numerous works on these topics, presented papers, and has spoken at many conferences.

Moderator:

Mikail Mamedov holds a PhD in History from Georgetown University, where he is also a Lecturer in History and the Liberal Studies Program of the School of Continuing Studies. His multiethnic Azeri-Armenian family arrived in the US back in 1996, in the wake of the outbreak of the Karabakh conflict. He holds an MA from The George Washington University and a Diploma in History from Moscow Lomonosov State University. He has authored numerous articles on the history of the Caucasus, and on contemporary literature and the Karabakh conflict.