Tuesday, October 10 2023 17:32

ArmInfo.On October 10, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a telephone conversation with James Cleverly, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the  United Kingdom.

As the press service of the RA MFA reports, during the conversation  Foreign Ministers discussed the current security situation in the  South Caucasus. 

Ararat Mirzoyan emphasised that Armenia had repeatedly, including  during more than 9-months-long blockade of the Lachin corridor,  signaled about Azerbaijan's clear intention to subject  Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing. Minister Mirzoyan added that  international society factually failed to undertake efficient steps  to prevent the realization of that intention.

The interlocutors touched upon the situation resulting from the  forced displacement of more than 100,000 people of Nagorno-Karabakh,  as well as the urgent humanitarian issues resulting thereof, and  cooperation with international partners in that direction.

Touching upon the general regional security situation Minister  Mirzoyan emphasised the imperative to deter any provocations against  the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Armenia.  In this regard, the support of the partners to the main messages of  the Statement adopted following the quadrilateral meeting held in  Granada on October 5 was highlighted.

The interlocutors also exchanged views on the possibilities of  expanding the Armenia-UK bilateral agenda.

On September 19, Azerbaijan, under the pretext of an "anti-terrorist  operation," undertook another act of aggression against Artsakh. As a  result of enemy aggression, hundreds of Artsakh residents were  injured, more than 200 deaths were reported, including civilians, and  more than 10,000 were evacuated.  On September 20, Artsakh fell.   Azerbaijan began the forcible subjugation of the NKR.  On September  20, late in the evening it became known that Azerbaijan had  deliberately shot at the car of the Russian peacekeeping contingent,  killing 5 people, including the deputy commander of the RPC. Today,  there were reports that one soldier was killed and another was  wounded as a result of shooting at another RPC vehicle.  On September  21, a meeting between representatives of Baku and Stepanakert was  held in Yevlakh.  Azerbaijan demanded the disarmament of the Artsakh  Defense Army, the surrender of all military personnel and the  abolition of all government bodies.  On September 22, the process of  abolishing the Artsakh Defense Army began. There are reports that the  enemy side exterminated the population of the villages captured on  September 19-20. During search operations from September 21 to 24,  the NKR Ministry of Internal Affairs discovered the bodies of 105  Artsakh residents, including brutally murdered children and elderly  people.  On October 1, the last car with Artsakh people left the  homeland. Thus, over the past week, 100.514 people were forcibly  expelled from their land.  On September 25 it also became known that  Artsakh was connected to the energy system of Azerbaijan.  Protests  demanding the resignation of the RA Prime Minister continue in  Yerevan and regions.  We add that as a result of the explosion that  took place in the fuel depot near Stepanakert on September 25,  according to preliminary data, more than 290 people were injured, 170  more died, there are still missing people.  The EU stated that it  would allocate an additional 5 million euros to assist internally  displaced people from Artsakh.  Earlier, USAI Administrator Samantha  Power, who is on a visit to Armenia, said that "the United States  will provide Armenia with support in the amount of $11.5 million for  the humanitarian needs of people displaced from Nagorno- Karabakh."  In addition, as ArmInfo previously reported with reference to the  Swedish Ambassador to Armenia, Sweden, through the Swedish  International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), allocated 15  million Swedish kronor to the International Committee of the Red  Cross to meet the humanitarian needs of the population of Nagorno-  Karabakh.  France promised to allocate another 7 million euros.   Germany announced an increase in subsidies to the ICRC from 2 to 5  million euros, to direct them to humanitarian needs of the Armenians  of Nagorno- Karabakh.  Another 1 million euros will be provided by  Spain, $2.5 million by Canada, and 1.3 million pounds sterling by the  UK, Italy allocated 4 million euros through the ICRC,  1.5 million  francs - Switzerland. A number of other countries have also announced  their intention to send humanitarian aid to the expelled people of  Artsakh.