On February 17, Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan received Kimmo Kiljunen (Finland) and Boriana Åberg (Sweden), co-rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) for Armenia, who are on a fact-finding visit in Armenia.

The Deputy Minister welcomed the fact-finding mission and expressed hope that it will contribute to the awareness raising and objective assessment of the situation in the region.

Paruyr Hovhannisyan briefed the interlocutors upon the consequences of blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan and the fact of regular disruption of gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh, stressing that Artsakh is facing the threat of a humanitarian crisis. 

He touched upon the infiltration into the sovereign territories of Armenia by the armed forces of Azerbaijan and the issues on the Armenian prisoners of war. He also emphasized that the illegal actions of the Azerbaijani leadership, warmongering rhetoric and maximalist approach seriously disrupt the efforts towards establishing peace and stability in the South Caucasus.