Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what representations they are making to the government of Azerbaijan about (1) that government’s artillery, mortar and drone attack on the village of Sotk in Armenia on 11 May, and (2) the continuing blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which has isolated at least four local communities; and whether they will consult the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the International Committee of the Red Cross about effective remedies.

Although we have not specifically raised the 11 May incident in Sotk with the Azerbaijani government, the UK's longstanding position is that there is no military solution to this conflict and that Armenia and Azerbaijan must engage in substantive negotiations, without preconditions, to secure a sustainable peaceful settlement. The Minister for Europe Leo Docherty underlined this message when he visited Baku in February, and I, [Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon], met with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister in Reykjavik on 17 May, where he raised the importance of unfettered access to the Lachin Corridor and encouraged continued negotiations with Armenia. The UK Government will continue to support constructive dialogue in further contacts with the Armenian and Azerbaijani governments in the coming months. We have called for the reopening of the Lachin corridor through interventions at the OSCE and are in close contact with humanitarian agencies about the situation on the ground, including the International Committee of the Red Cross.