On August 29, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a phone conversation with Elina Valtonen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland.

Minister Mirzoyan briefed his counterpart on the details of the hourly deepening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azerbaijan’s ongoing 8-months-long illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor. The Foreign Minister of Armenia particularly noted that the fundamental rights of 120.000 people are violated, there is an acute shortage of medicine and food, gas and electricity supply to Nagorno-Karabakh is disrupted.

Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized the imperative of Azerbaijan to implement legally binding Orders of the UN International Court of Justice of February 22 and July 6, 2023, to immediately lift the blockade of the Lachin corridor and to prevent the ethnic cleansing of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. The importance of effective use of the existing tools by international partners, including the EU and its member states, was emphasized. Ararat Mirzoyan noted that the ongoing deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh by the official Baku is jeopardizing the efforts of Armenia and the international community aimed at establishing stability in the region.

During the telephone conversation, the sides also touched upon the Armenia-EU partnership, the EU civilian monitoring mission in Armenia, as well as consistent support for democratic reforms in Armenia.