On behalf of the European Commission, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, has responded to a written question from European Parliament member Dimitris Papadakis of the Socialist and Democrats political group regarding the humanitarian crisis created in Nagorno-Karabakh due to the blockade of the Lachin corridor.
In his response, Borrell stated that since the beginning of December 2022, the European Union has been closely following developments along and around the Lachin corridor and their humanitarian impact.
He assured that the European Union, as before, is seriously concerned about the continued restrictions on free movement and the supply of essential goods, which create serious problems for the local population.
In his response, Josep Borrell declared that, with the support of the European Union Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the crisis in Georgia, Toivo Klaar, he is in close contact with both sides. The European Union has called on Azerbaijan to take measures within its competence to ensure freedom and security of traffic through the corridor, in accordance with its commitments under the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020.
The European Union’s high-ranking official also emphasised Russia’s responsibility in this matter, under whose peacekeeping forces’ control the Lachin corridor is, in accordance with the same trilateral statement.
Borrell stated that the European Union’s humanitarian funding aimed at overcoming the consequences of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict amounted to 3.6 million euros in 2022. It was entirely entrusted to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the only international humanitarian organisation able to operate in the areas along the Lachin corridor. Since the escalation of the conflict in 2020, the European Union has allocated around 27 million euros for humanitarian aid and rapid recovery, aimed at supporting the most vulnerable groups of the population affected by hostilities.
