Radar Armenia's interlocutor is Hilda Chobanyan, a French-Armenian public figure.
- France supports Armenia at the highest level. What are the moods in the French Azerbaijani community?
- In France, the Azerbaijani community is not very visible, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The weight of the Armenian community is heavier. The Armenian community is accepted in French society. Many Armenians are of Armenian and French origin and have high-level relations with various circles. One cannot compare Armenian and Azerbaijani communities. Of course, in recent years, there have been political and social groups in France that are related to Azerbaijan in one way or other, thanks to bribery. They are often invited to Azerbaijan and receive a warm welcome from them. But their weight is not so great in France. There is a significant circumstance here: Armenia and Artsakh are the victims of Azerbaijan's expansionist policy and attack. The Armenian side receives more support than the attacking side. And in this regard, one cannot talk about the attitude of the Azerbaijani community, and I think that the Azerbaijani community is in a depressed state. However, some news outlets operating in France until recently put a sign of equality between the Armenian and Azerbaijani sides. In that regard, the Azerbaijani community had some hope that the Armenian influence was not enough. However, as I said, sympathy for Armenians in France is more significant than for Azerbaijanis.
- Turkish Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu, during a meeting with representatives of the Turkish community in Strasbourg, said that a part of Armenians living in France opposes the improvement of Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations. In general, what is the opinion of French Armenians regarding the settlement of Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish relations?
- Regarding the regulation of Armenian-Azerbaijani and Armenian-Turkish relations, French-Armenians are mostly opposed not to the relations with Azerbaijan but to this new agreement to be concluded with Azerbaijan, where Armenia will be in the role of a concessioner, and this puts us in a challenging situation. I am talking about the traditional diaspora living in France, not those who arrived in recent years. French-Armenians do not cherish hopes for the future of Armenia, especially when Azerbaijan has such a threatening and challenging position. As for the relations with Turkey, I must mention that since 2008 the French-Armenians have been against those relations. Today, I consider it justified to be against the ties with Turkey in that period. Turkey talks to the world differently than to Armenia. The French-Armenian community does not trust Azerbaijan and Turkey, which threaten Armenia daily. Of course, some small circles will say that these relations are important for Armenia, but when signing a neighborhood agreement, there should be equality between the two countries. Today, French-Armenians have no confidence in either Azerbaijan or Turkey.
- What do you think about the work of the RA ambassador in France? What kind of relations does the ambassador have with the Armenian community?
- Regarding the work of the RA ambassador in France, I can say that the French Armenians are satisfied with his work. Mrs. Tolmajyan has many years of experience. He knows France very well and continues to perform the work of the former ambassador with dignity. Another problem is that the embassy does not have enough staff like other embassies. And since the challenges in big countries like France are also significant, there are issues that the embassy does not have time to deal with because the field of work is wide and the embassy's capabilities are limited. And the staff of such embassies should be expanded ten times.
Hayk Magoyan
