YEREVAN, MARCH 22, ARTSAKHPRESS. The Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to ensure the return of the displaced Armenian refugees to Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent territories, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said on March 22.
FM Mirzoyan was asked to comment on the matter during questions time in parliament. MP Arusyak Julhakyan inquired on the instructions issued by the Prime Minister to the Foreign Ministry.
FM Mirzoyan said that almost immediately after the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, Armenia began working with the UNHCR to ensure the return of refugees to Nagorno Karabakh and adjacent territories, the territories that are now under Azerbaijan’s control.
“We have correspondence, several meetings with my participation have also taken place. The issue continues to be discussed. And after the Prime Minister’s instructions another meeting has already taken place, not with my participation and with the participation of a representative of the High Commissioner,” FM Mirzoyan said.
He said that Azerbaijan is creating some obstructions. The foreign minister said that Armenia seeks to act maximally constructively in this issue as well, to find solutions in order for the clause 7 of the statement to be fulfilled.
“Regarding the mechanism of genocide prevention, we’ve been working in this direction for a very long time. And now we’ve intensified our efforts, because now, obviously, as everyone can see, there is a real danger of ethnic cleansing and genocide facing particularly the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh. This is even explicitly seen in the narrative of the highest government officials in Azerbaijan,” the Armenian foreign minister said.
He added that the international community, namely the UN, must act in this direction.
On March 16, PM Nikol Pashinyan said Armenia will urgently initiate international mechanisms for genocide prevention in Nagorno Karabakh, and will also launch negotiations with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees over Nagorno Karabakh IDPs.
