Armenia has said it is preparing to welcome thousands of ethnic Armenians who have fled Azerbaijan.
This follows the declaration of a ceasefire after fighting between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. The region is internationally recognised as being part of Azerbaijan but is populated by Armenians. There has been conflict over the region between Armenia and Azerbaijan since the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. Both Armenia and Azerbaijan were Soviet constituent republics.
Azerbaijan had launched an offensive against the Republic of Artsakh, a self-declared republic formed by ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. After 24 hours of fighting Artsakh agreed to enter into talks with Azerbaijan for the reintegration of the region into Azerbaijan. The truce was brokered by Russia.
Ethnic Armenians are reportedly concerned that they could be ethnically cleansed from the region.
The Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, said that his country was preparing for the influx of up to 40 000 families. However, he said there was no threat to ethnic Armenians in Azerbaijan.