Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has taken recent steps to join initiatives of other Western countries relating to the Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin Corridor.

The UK Government has made clear that the closure of the Lachin corridor risks severe humanitarian consequences. I [Minister Docherty] issued a statement highlighting the importance of re-opening the Lachin corridor on 13 December. Our Embassies in Baku and Yerevan continue to urge the Governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to abide by all commitments in relation to the Lachin corridor in good faith and to settle the remaining conflict issues as soon as possible. The UK has spoken at the Organization for Security Co-operation in Europe and at the United Nations Security Council, as well as in Baku, to urge the immediate reopening of the corridor given the risk of severe humanitarian consequences.