News - Samantha Power: There should be international presence in Nagorno-Karabakh

Armenia is a country very close to my heart, I can't even imagine how painful the events of the last few days have been for the Armenian people. Samantha Power, Administrator of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), has said during a press conference today on Monday. "People have been separated from their families, they don't know what their fate will be, and they have found themselves in a situation where there is a severe shortage of food, fuel, and medicine. Today I visited the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial to reaffirm that we must stand by each other to preserve dignity and cultural heritage. Today, Mr. Pashinyan and I talked about how we can help the Armenian people in the coming period in Nagorno-Karabakh and in the future, when Armenia will continue to take measures to strengthen its sovereignty, territorial integrity, democracy and ensure well-being for its people," she said. Samata Power called on Azerbaijan to maintain the ceasefire and take concrete steps to protect the rights of civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh. "President Aliyev promised to guarantee the rights of ethnic Armenians. Azerbaijan must fulfill that promise. Moreover, it is very important that the world can check and make sure that Azerbaijan fulfills its promise. All parties should allow for an international humanitarian assessment and humanitarian presence to see if Azerbaijan fulfills its obligations and for these structures to report to the international community. Azerbaijan should permanently and fully open the Lachin corridor for passenger transportation, commercial transportation and humanitarian transportation. Promises to protect the people of Nagorno-Karabakh will be in vain as long as civilians cannot come and go, when supplies of medicine and food cannot reach them. Organizations like USAID should have access to provide first aid," she added.