Eric Zemmour’s visit was largely unnoticed in Armenia, but French Armenians accused him of trying to use the country’s conflicts for his own Islamophobic purposes.
The International Court of Justice declined, however, to order more concrete measures related to Armenian prisoners and maps of land mines in Azerbaijan.
There was much to discuss just over a year after the end of the war, including ongoing border tensions, plans to reopen borders and transportation, and the fate of Armenian prisoners.
Repeated attempts from Baku to force Yerevan to negotiate may be having the opposite effect, as the government is now vulnerable to being seen as easily bullied.
Officials in Karabakh are remaining tight-lipped about Iranian fuel imports, and say that Baku is using the issue as a pretext to drive out the region’s Armenian population.
Employers are now effectively required to demand proof of vaccinations from their workers. But the country’s health care system is now being pushed to the limit.
A dispute over whether or not Azerbaijan had expanded its military presence on the border further has sharpened a longstanding dispute between the two sides.
The government is heavily publicizing the concept, which could increase the economic efficiency of rural communities but also place them under greater central control.
The two foreign ministers also discussed how to resolve transportation issues that have become complicated by the new post-war order in southern Armenia.
The two adversaries have been choosing not to use one another’s air space. Now Armenians are asking why their government is allowing Azerbaijani overflights.
The minister enjoyed an unusually long tenure in Armenia's government, more than two years, resigning only after the defeat in last year's war with Azerbaijan.