Turkish-Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia was a warning to Europe – Valérie Pécresse

The President of the Regional Council of Île-de-France Valérie Pécresse says that the 2020 Azerbaijani-Turkish aggression against Armenia was a warning for all of Europe.

“I think what happened in Armenia was an important warning for Europe, and it would be very wrong for us to underestimate its importance and think that everything that happened here doesn’t threaten us, because Europe’s history is full of lessons that threats have emerged at times when they were underestimated,” Pecresse, the head of the French region of Île-de-France and a candidate for the French presidency in 2022 said at a press conference in Yerevan as part of her visit to Armenia.

Pécresse believes that France can play a role in the solution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict in several arenas. One of these platforms, according to her, is the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, while the other would be raising the issue at the level of Europe.

“You know that in January France will assume the presidency of the European Union, and I believe we have an important role here to convince other European countries to be more involved in solving the conflicts of the region,” she said, welcoming the December 14 meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders under the mediation of the President of the European Council Charles Michel.

In addition, Pécresse is planning to organize an international conference in Paris in support of Armenia. She said the agenda of the conference would include issues of establishing and maintaining peace, as well as other important issues such as the preservation of cultural and spiritual heritage in Armenia and Artsakh.