On July 6, the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Republic of Armenia Paruyr Hovhannisyan received Christos Giakoumopoulos, the Director General of Human Rights and Rule of Law and Miroslav Papa, the Director of Political affairs and External Relations of the Council of Europe.

The Deputy Minister briefed on the human rights restrictions and humanitarian challenges the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are facing as a result of Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor. In this context the interlocutors touched upon the possible involvement of the Council of Europe considering the latter’s mandate and scope of activities and prioritized the resolution “Ensuring free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor” adopted recently by PACE.

Deputy Minister Hovhannisyan presented the latest developments in the process of normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well the importance of ensuring the rights and security guarantees of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

During the meeting issues on the Armenia-Council of Europe bilateral agenda have been discussed.

Information

The high-level delegation visited Armenia on the initiative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe with the purpose to get more information on the situation in the region and outline further steps.

Apart from the official meetings, the delegation visited Syunik region and had meetings with the Governor of the Syunik region Robert Ghukhasyan, the interim Head of the EU mission in Armenia Eric Dikoume, as well as people from Nagorno-Karabakh stranded in Armenia because of the Lachin corridor blockade. The delegation visited Kornidzor and the starting point of the Lachin Corridor.