(Photo: ALAIN JOCARD/AFP via Getty Images) French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, accompanied by Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan, visits the National Burn Center in Yerevan on October 3, 2023.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna visited Armenia Tuesday (October 2) after attending the European Union's top diplomats' summit in Kyiv.

Her visit to Yerevan was mainly to meet with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the refugee crisis the country faces with the flight of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan's blitz offensive. She also met with her Armenian counterpart, Ararat Mirzoyan.

According to French public broadcaster France 24, Colonna also visited burn victims, most of whom were injured after a fuel depot explosion in the region's capital Stepanakert last week.

"You can count on our continued support," she told workers at Armenia's National Burn Center, further promising that France would treat four victims who would be flown out this weekend.

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Paris-Yerevan Relations

France hosts one of the largest Armenian diasporas in Europe, and third largest in population behind Russia and the US, respectively. Colonna told reporters that she was "honored" that her country was Armenia's "closest" and "most loyal" friend.

In a statement, Paris's Foreign Ministry said Colonna would express French support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Armenia, and "reiterate France's mobilization in favor of a just and durable peace in the Caucasus and the respect of the rights of the Armenia populations in Nagorno-Karabakh."

In response, Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan emphasized the importance of what she called France's "humanitarian support."

Prior to the fall of Armenian Karabakh, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo was one of the few who attempted to break Baku's blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the only way in and out of the beleaguered region - but to no avail.

Armenia Ratifies Rome Statute

Meanwhile, the Armenian Parliament has ratified the founding treaty of the International Criminal Court Tuesday - a vote that angered Russia and won praise from Colonna, who is a top diplomat of a major NATO country.

"I welcome the decision of the Armenian parliament to ratify the Rome Statute," she wrote on X, formerly Twitter, in French. "The struggle against impunity for crimes is a condition for peace and stability."

The ICC has previously issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his role in the Kremlin's war in Ukraine and the alleged crimes against humanity surrounding it.

Armenia's move to ratify the Rome Statute reflected the strained relationship the country had with the Kremlin, but also - and, according to Pashinyan, more importantly - indicated that the country might bring Azerbaijan to the world court for Nagorno-Karabakh.

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