Leendert Verbeek, President of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, has made the following statement today:

“I am deeply concerned by the recent developments over Nagorno-Karabakh which can have serious humanitarian consequences for the region.

They could lead, among other things, to an influx of refugees into Armenian local communities, especially those on the border with Azerbaijan. Those concerns were recently raised by Armenian local authorities with a delegation of local and regional representatives from France in the light of the blockade of the Lachin corridor. The conclusions of this mission will be presented to the Congress Bureau on 22 September 2023.

I call for restraint by all sides before any further deterioration of the situation.”