An Azerbaijani journalist asked him about those arms deals during a news conference held at the end of Thursday’s European Political Community (EPC) summit in England.

“It is normal to respond to the request of a sovereign country which wants to equip itself [militarily] and which thinks that it could be attacked by another,” Macron was reported to reply. “If we look at the last decade, it seems that Azerbaijan has become much more equipped than Armenia. And if I have a good memory — but correct me if I’m wrong — Azerbaijan launched a war, and a terrible war, in 2020.”

The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on Friday condemned Macron’s comments as another example of France’s “biased attitude” towards Azerbaijan and obstruction of regional peace efforts. A ministry spokesman, Aykhan Hajizade, also defended Baku’s military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh and continuing military buildup which he said serves “just goals.”

“The same cannot be said about Armenia, which is an occupying country,” claimed Hajizade.

Paris pledged last October to sell defensive weapons and provide other military assistance to Armenia part of a broader deepening of French-Armenian relations cemented. The French weapons include sophisticated radars, short-range air-defense systems and armored personnel carriers. The two sides signed last month another contract calling for the delivery of 36 CAESAR self-propelled howitzers to the Armenian military.

Macron on Thursday also reaffirmed French support for Armenia’s territorial integrity and efforts to negotiate a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. He met with Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on the sidelines of the EPC summit earlier in the day.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev also attended the summit hosted by the British government at Blenheim Palace in Woodstock, Oxfordshire. Yerevan and Baku accused each other of scuttling a possible meeting between Pashinian and Aliyev there.