Armenia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ara Aivazian today met with the delegation led by UK Minister for European Neighborhood and the Americas Wendy Morton, who is on a working visit to Armenia.

Minister Aivazian greeted the guests and stated that the visit serves as a good opportunity to touch upon the bilateral agenda and outline the joint actions to enrich it. The interlocutors exchanged views on the prospects for expansion of cooperation in the areas of mutual interest.

During the meeting, the parties also touched upon regional security and stability. In this regard, Minister Aivazian stated the following: “The current situation in our region is the result of the use of force by Azerbaijan through Turkey’s direct involvement. As you rightfully mentioned in your speech at the House of Commons on November 8, 2020, this can’t be viewed as a resolution of the conflict; only a balanced political settlement that will respect all rights and will pave the way for elimination of the reasons and consequences of the war, may bring stability, durable peace and eventually conciliation in the South Caucasus.

The right of the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to self-determination lies at the core of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Azerbaijan’s attempt of forceful repression of the right to self-determination which was accompanied by war crimes, is not only a violation of human rights, but also a serious and ongoing threat to regional security,” he said.

In the context of addressing the humanitarian issues that emerged in consequence of Azerbaijani aggression against Artsakh, Aivazian called his interlocutor’s attention to Azerbaijan’s policy on keeping Armenian prisoners of war and civilians, including women as hostages.