United Nations specialists are ready to work jointly with Russia to assess the volume of humanitarian assistance needed in Nagorno-Karabakh, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said.
"In response to a request from the Russian Federation and pending further details on the role and operating modalities of the Russian Inter-agency Humanitarian Response Centre, the Secretary-General has confirmed that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and relevant UN entities are ready to cooperate and to discuss possible interaction and collaboration on the ground, including for the purpose of undertaking an initial independent inter-agency assessment in Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, as soon as conditions permit, in order to obtain a comprehensive picture of the humanitarian needs on the ground," he told journalists.
He also said that the secretary-general had had telephone talks with the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers to stress the organization’s readiness to offer humanitarian assistance to the countries.
"We hope that the cessation of hostilities will enable humanitarian actors to have the necessary access to all people in need in all areas affected by the conflict, including people displaced by the conflict, particularly in and around Nagorno-Karabakh," Dujarric added.
On November 9, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan signed a joint statement on a complete ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh. The Russian leader said the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides would remain on the positions they hold and Russian peacekeepers would be deployed to the region. Besides, Armenia and Azerbaijan should carry out the exchange of prisoners of war and the bodies of those killed. Aghdam region will be returned to Azerbaijan before November 20, Kelbajar region - before November 15, Lachin region - before December 1. Later, Baku gave Yerevan postponement for troops withdrawal from Kelbajar until November 25.
