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French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal claims Russia seeks to "punish” Armenia for its pursuit of peace and respect for its sovereignty, Le Figaro reported.

Russia "wants to punish Armenia, because it has opted for fight against impunity by joining the International Criminal Court" and "simply because it has chosen democracy and the rule of law", he said, speaking at the annual dinner of the Coordination Council of Armenian Organizations of France (CCAF) on Wednesday.

Attal also criticized Russia for failure to condemn Azerbaijan’s use of force in Nagorno-Karabakh, adding the "so-called Russian peacekeeping forces allowed the humanitarian crisis to fester there".

The French PM called on Azerbaijan to "withdraw its troops from occupied positions" in Armenia, noting that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev "has himself acknowledged that Azerbaijani forces have advanced into Armenian territory".

"The current priority is to help Armenia defend its independence, democracy, territory, in short, its sovereignty and to preserve Armenia's territorial integrity,” he insisted.