Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, with reference to the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement signed by the President of Azerbaijan, the Prime Minister of Armenia and the President of the Russian Federation on 10 November 2020, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that the exchange of prisoners of war, hostages and other detainees, and the remains of the fatalities, is carried out.

I spoke to the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister on 13 November and the Armenian Foreign Minister on 30 November where I welcomed the cessation of hostilities. I urged both Foreign Ministers to ensure the International Committee of the Red Cross were able to access the conflict zone to allow for the facilitation of the return of prisoners of war and the remains of the deceased. Our Embassies in Yerevan and Baku continue to engage their hosts in support of these efforts.