Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether the Government plans to respond to recent alleged reports of violence against ethnic Armenians by Azerbaijan.

We are not aware of any recent reports of alleged violence against ethnic Armenians by Azerbaijan. However, we are clear that peaceful negotiation is the only route to a lasting resolution of the longstanding conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and we stand ready to support them to achieve this. I conveyed this sentiment in calls with the foreign ministers of both Armenia (on 11 October) and Azerbaijan (on 31 October).