Azerbaijan’s behavior is an unprecented challenge, Artsakh’s President Arayik Harutyunyan said in a statement after Azerbaijan blocked the road linking the republic to Armenia for the second time this month, citing fake environmental reasons.
“First of all, the aggressive behavior of Azerbaijan, through which it terrorizes our population and puts our vital rights and interests under attack, is highly unacceptable for us. This is an unprecedented challenge for our state and people, and I call on the entire society to unite and stay calm, because one of the goals of the Azerbaijani authorities is to incite internal division and panic in Artsakh,” the President said.
“The authorities and the people of Artsakh have clear values, principles and red lines, for the protection of which we are making and will make all possible efforts, sometimes invisible,” he said.
“We are sure that the Russian peacekeeping forces, as a guarantor of the safety of our people and the road, will use all tools to prevent such provocations and violations of agreements against the vital rights and interests of our people,” President Harutyunyan said.
He noted that other actors of the international community also have important work to do, because the actions of the Azerbaijani side grossly violate the well-known norms of international law, and Azerbaijan strives for ethnic cleansing and depatriation of the people of Artsakh.
“Artsakh was and will be Armenian through our united and determined efforts against all challenges,” he concluded.
