European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced that the EU will double its humanitarian aid for Karabakh Armenians at the European Political Community Summit in Granada on Friday.
"The EU stands by Armenia. We are doubling our humanitarian support to alleviate the plight of the 100,000 displaced Karabakh Armenians. And we are channelling more budget support towards the Armenian State," von der Leyen said in a press release. "The EU remains fully committed to supporting the negotiations with Azerbaijan and facilitating the dialogue.”
The announcement comes in the wake of Azerbaijan's military "local anti-terrorist" offensive on 19 September to reclaim the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan but is predominantly inhabited by separatist ethnic Armenians. Without support from the Armenian government, the unrecognised Armenian separatist authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh quickly capitulated to a Russia-brokered cease-fire.
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Azerbaijan promised full rights to Armenians who remained in Nagorno-Karabakh, but the statement did not avoid a mass exodus of ethnic Armenians who fled the region towards Armenia for fear of ethnic cleansing.
The EU Commission's plans for further support to the Armenians commit €5.25 million in emergency assistance (in addition to a previously announced €5.2 million), €800,000 to the EU4Peace programme and €15 million for socio-economic needs in Armenia, as well as practical support in the form of technical assistance and more.
