Nagorno-Karabakh – France mobilizes additional assistance (September 27, 2023)

France is staunchly committed to supporting Armenia and the Armenian people, as well as the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh who were forced to flee their land and their homes in their tens of thousands following the Azerbaijani military offensive and nine months of an illegal blockade.

Azerbaijan must restore unhindered humanitarian access from Armenia to UN agencies and provide affected populations with full and unhindered access to humanitarian relief.

Following a decision by Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, France will provide an additional €7 million in financial assistance for NGOs, UN agencies and the Armenian Red Cross Society to welcome these people and cover their social welfare, medical and financial expenses.

This financial assistance, in addition to the €5.5 million that France had already allocated since the beginning of 2023 via the International Committee of the Red Cross, brings the support provided to refugees and displaced persons in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh to €12.5 million since the beginning of the year.

It is supplemented by an emergency relief shipment to help care for refugees and the victims of an explosion at a fuel depot in Nagorno-Karabakh on the evening of September 25.

The Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ Crisis and Support Center will send the following items to Armenia:

• a consignment of medical equipment and emergency supplies to care for 250 seriously injured people
• 40 trunks of general and emergency medicines for adults and children, as well as 1,500 suture kits and 9,000 sterile compresses donated by the Tulipe association and its affiliated healthcare firms.

This aid will be delivered by the Embassy of France in Yerevan to the Armenian Ministry of Health to be distributed in the field, as close as possible to where it is needed.

A team from the Crisis and Support Center will also travel to the region to assess needs and to establish our humanitarian response for those who are most vulnerable.