YEREVAN, APRIL 24, ARMENPRESS. French Minister of State attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne delivered a speech at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial in Yerevan on April 24 on the occasion of the 106th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

“This year, our delegation on behalf of President Macron is naturally present at the commemoration ceremony. This year especially, the ceremony has a special significance because it is already 20 years since France recognized the Armenian Genocide by law. But president [Macron] wasn’t satisfied only with that, and it is already the 3rd consecutive year that April 24th is marked in the official state calendar of France as a remembrance day,” he said.

“France always stood by Armenia, both in past difficult moments, as well as for all initiatives expected in the future. A testament to this was the French President’s condemning regarding all the mercenaries who were recruited from Syria and had appeared in the events well known to us all, the medical humanitarian aid…” he said, referring to the Turkey-backed mercenaries who fought for Azerbaijan during the attacks on Artsakh in 2020.

Lemoyne mentioned the OSCE Minsk Group’s recent statement regarding the need to return POWs.

He quoted Aznavour’s They Fell. “As Aznavour said in the song ‘They Fell’ – Their only crime was life, Their only guilt was being The children of Armenia, Nothing less, nothing more.”

“Today, the Armenian nation stands firmly, it is withstanding, nothing will be able to obstruct the centuries-old Armenian-French friendship,” Lemoyne added.

Editing by Stepan Kocharyan