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UN ready to work with Russia to ensure humanitarian assistance to Nagorno-Karabakh

The secretary general also had telephone talks with the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers to stress the organization’s readiness to offer humanitarian assistance to the countries

UNITED NATIONS, November 23. /TASS/. United Nations specialists are ready to work jointly with Russia to assess the volume of humanitarian assistance needed in Nagorno-Karabakh, United Nations Secretary General Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Monday.

"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," he added.

Renewed clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia erupted on September 27, with intense battles raging in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The area experienced flare-ups of violence in the summer of 2014, in April 2016 and this past July.

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 starting from November 10. Under the document, the Azerbaijani and Armenian sides are to maintain the positions that they held and Russian peacekeepers are to be deployed to the region.

On November 13, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the establishment of an inter-agency humanitarian response center in Nagorno-Karabakh. The first Russian convoys with humanitarian aid were sent to Stepanakert on November 20. The second convoy set off for Nagorno-Karabakh on November 21. The Russian emergencies ministry will deliver 345 tonnes of humanitarian cargoes, mostly building materials to restore social infrastructure facilities and housing damaged during the hostilities.

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