YEREVAN. – Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ashot Hovakimian attended and addressed, in Geneva, Switzerland, the 67th meeting of the Executive Committee of the Programme of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

In his remarks, Hovakimian reflected on the global challenges relating to refugees, and stressed that Armenia stands ready to continue the productive cooperation with the Office of the UNHCR, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia informed Armenian News-NEWS.am.

The deputy FM of Armenia also spoke about the Armenian refugees who were forced to leave their homes in Azerbaijan due to the latter’s policy of ethnic cleansing. In addition, he presented the military aggression which Azerbaijan unleashed against Nagorno-Karabakh, in early April, and which was accompanied by gross violations of international humanitarian law.

Ashot Hovakimian also reflected on the refugees from Syria. In this connection, he noted that, by providing shelter for more than 20 thousand refugees from Syria, Armenia is third in Europe, with respect to population ratio, among countries receiving refugees from Syria.

In response to the Armenian delegation’s address, UNHCR Filippo Grandi underscored the need for a speedy resolution of the Karabakh conflict, and expressed support to the respective efforts by the co-chairs of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group.

Ashot Hovakimian also had a tête-à-tête with Grandi.