Armenia, meanwhile, asked the World Court to order Azerbaijan to withdraw its troops from civilian areas to allow UN access.
The United Nations will send a mission to Nagorno-Karabakh for the first time in about 30 years to meet humanitarian needs after Azerbaijan retook the territory and triggered a large refugee exodus, a spokesman said.
“The government of Azerbaijan and the United Nations have agreed on a mission in the region. “The mission will take place over the weekend,” spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Friday.
The announcement followed a request by Armenia to the World Court to order Azerbaijan to withdraw all its troops from civilian facilities in Nagorno-Karabakh so that the UN can have safe access, the court said on Friday.
The World Court, officially known as the International Court of Justice, ordered Azerbaijan in February to ensure freedom of movement through the Lachin Corridor in and out of the disputed region. At the time, this was an interim step in legal disputes with neighboring Armenia.
In a request for interim measures filed on Thursday, Armenia asked the court to confirm the orders it issued to Azerbaijan in February and order it to refrain from any measures aimed directly or indirectly at expelling the remaining ethnic Armenians to distribute region.
Some international experts said the exodus of ethnic Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh met the requirements for the war crime of “deportation or forced relocation” or even a crime against humanity.
Last week, Azerbaijani forces seized control of the self-proclaimed state in the predominantly Armenian enclave, prompting residents to flee and raising fears of ethnic cleansing.
Over the years, Azerbaijan and Armenia have fought two wars over the mountainous region.
“We haven’t had access there for about 30 years,” Dujarric said, due to the “very complicated and delicate geopolitical situation.”
“That’s why it’s very important that we can get in,” he continued, adding that the mission would do so by air from Azerbaijan.
A team of about a dozen people led by the U.N. humanitarian affairs department will assess the needs of people remaining in the territory and those who are fleeing, he added.
“And of course it must be remembered that everyone must respect international law and in particular international human rights law,” he said.