Armenia and France enjoy "privileged" relations, Armenian Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian said after meeting the French Secretary of State at the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, in Yerevan on Thursday, January 28.

This is Lemoyne's fifth visit to Armenia and the second one in the past two months.

In an interview with the Public Television of Armenia, Aivazian said France continues to support the interests of Armenia, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and the Armenian people.

"The purpose of this visit is to expand our economic agenda. The Secretary of State is bringing a pretty large delegation to Armenia, they have been here for several days now. We have had discussions on possible investment programs for the development of Armenia in the future," Aivazian said.

According to him, France has displayed its clear, impartial position on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the very first day of the war. Aivazian reminded French President Emmanuel Macron's and Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian's statements that pointed to the country that had unleashed the war against Artsakh.

"We have weighed in on issues that require immediate solution, first of all to the immediate release of our captives. Both France and French officials pay great attention to the quick resolution of these humanitarian issues," he said.

Azerbaijan has been delaying the return of Armenian captives and POWs, with official Baku threatening to prosecute those still in captivity. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has said in one of his speeches that the remaining detained persons are not prisoners of war but “terrorists”. Human rights lawyer Siranush Sahakyan has said, meanwhile, that more than 100 Armenian prisoners of war are being held in Azerbaijan. Sahakyan represents the rights of some of the Karabakh POWs before the European Court of Human Rights. The lawyer said there is enough evidence proving the capture of said persons, which the Armenian side will submit to international agencies and courts.