What Steps is Armenia Taking to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to Artsakh by Air? Government Responds

Since the very first day of Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor, Armenia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been consistently working with international organizations to lift the blockade and provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh within the frameworks of their mandates. This was conveyed in response to a question from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty by the Armenian government.

The website specifically inquired whether Armenia is taking any concrete steps to deliver aid to Armenians in Artsakh via air, through the UN World Food Program or Russian peacekeepers, as Azerbaijan has been prohibiting any humanitarian cargo from being transported through the Lachin corridor for over a month, leading to a severe shortage of food.

The government noted that possible solutions to the humanitarian needs of Armenians in Artsakh have been actively discussed with both the regional and Yerevan offices of the UN World Food Program (WFP) within the scope of their authority.

According to the department, the issue was also discussed during the visit of Corinne Fleischer, the WFP’s regional director for the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe, to Yerevan in April.

In this context, the government emphasizes that Azerbaijan continually obstructs the entry of UN agencies and other international organizations into Artsakh.

“With the coordination of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, other responsible agencies of the Republic of Armenia are also in direct contact with the leadership of WFP. These works are ongoing, and the public will be informed about the results in due course,” the government responded.

It is worth noting that last week, during a government meeting, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated that the current issue is to draw greater international attention to the humanitarian crisis established in Nagorno-Karabakh, stressing the increasing need for an international fact-finding mission to be dispatched to the Lachin corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh.