Nagorno-Karabakh

Lord Howell of Guildford Excerpts

Thursday 21st September 2023 Lords Chamber

[The Earl of Courtown (Con)]

As the noble Lord said, if we can get reconciliation between the parties, we will go a long way towards resolving some of this crisis. He commented on the process and, as I said, our position at the moment is that the US, the EU and France are taking the lead for a number of reasons, as he will be aware. But we will of course be there to offer any aid we can, and it will be interesting to hear what my noble friend Lord Ahmad has managed to achieve at the UN.

[Lord Howell of Guildford (Con)]

Let us remember that one more intractable problem is the existence in Baku of thousands of displaced Azerbaijanis from the original struggle. They have lost their lands and are living in extreme poverty and difficulty and, understandably, are putting on pressure to get back and reclaim their properties. That is one more angle that is important for our Ministers to remember at the United Nations. Also, of course, Azerbaijan has been a good and supportive friend of the United Kingdom and vice versa, and it is important in the overall geopolitics of the region. We should bear that in mind as well. There is injustice and justice on both sides; that is why the problem is intractable.