Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to ask the government of Azerbaijan to lift the blockade in the Lachin Corridor in the interests of regional security in the South Caucasus; and what assessment they have made of the steps that could be taken to prevent an increase in conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region as a result of the blockade.
On 30 January, the Minister for Europe, Leo Docherty MP, met with the Azerbaijan ambassador to highlight the importance of re-opening the Lachin corridor. Ambassadors in the region and other senior UK officials have reinforced this message with key interlocutors including representatives of the Azerbaijani Government. The United Kingdom also called for the corridor to be re-opened in interventions at the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe on 15 December and at the UN Security Council on 20 December. This is consistent with our long-standing support for internationally facilitated negotiations as the most effective way to facilitate a sustainable and peaceful settlement to the conflict.