Yerevan/Moscow, Sept. 25, (dpa/GNA) – Thousands of ethnic Armenians have left Nagorno-Karabakh for Armenia after Azerbaijan asserted control over the region, the government in Yerevan said on Monday.
So far, 2,906 refugees have been registered in Armenia. On Sunday the figure stood at around 1,000.
Around 1,100 have been given emergency shelter by the Armenian government and a further 1,000 or so have found their own accommodation.
Azerbaijan’s recent military operation to take control of Nagorno-Karabakh forced the ethnic Armenians to flee the region, which has long been contested between the two ex-Soviet republics.
It is internationally recognized as being part of Azerbaijan but has had an Armenian majority, who now fear for their future, prompting many to head to neighbouring Armenia.
The region’s main city Stepanakert has also seen an influx of refugees from other areas of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to media reports, which have warned of a humanitarian emergency. A months-long blockade of the region by Azerbaijan has left them short of food and medicine.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met close ally Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday.
The Turkish presidential office said that the meeting in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan was to discuss the latest “developments” in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Erdoğan congratulated his counterpart on “the historic success” of the quick military operation, according to Turkish state news agency Anadolu, while Aliyev said the region was heading in the right direction thanks in part to Turkish support.
Russia maintains a military contingent in Nagorno-Karabakh, which was supposed to monitor a ceasefire signed between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020. Russia welcomed the meeting between Erdoğan and Aliyev.
“We always hope that all meetings held by the president of Azerbaijan, including those with the Turkish president, will serve to normalize life in Nagorno-Karabakh after what happened,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency.
The close relations between Baku and Ankara are well known, but Moscow also maintains a close relationship with both capitals, Peskov stressed.
Erdoğan and Aliyev also plan to attend the laying of a foundation stone for a new natural gas pipeline between Turkey and Nakhchivan.
Aliyev is putting increasing pressure on areas in south-eastern Armenia to agree to a corridor from the main part of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan, which is largely surrounded by Armenia and Iran but has a small border with Turkey.
GNA