The illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan has been continuing for 25 days now, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the government sitting today.
He said this action that led to a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, caused a wide international response and calls to unblock the corridor.
“Despite this, Azerbaijan is not taking action to settle the issue. By closing the Lachin Corridor, Azerbaijan is grossly violating its direct commitment assumed under the Tripartite Statement of November 9, 2020, which raises serious questions about the contractual capacity of official Baku. At the same time, Azerbaijan is trying blame Armenia for failure to fulfil its obligations, which is completely fictitious,” the Prime Minister said.
He noted that Azerbaijan is citing various reasons for the closure of the Lachin Corridor, but, according to PM Pashinyan, “the most profound and real reason is that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh continue to live in their homeland, and the international community has begun to respond more clearly to Azerbaijan’s visible policy of subjecting the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing and genocide.”
“In this sense, we expect more practical steps from the international community, including the permanent member of the UN Security Council, the Russian Federation, whose peacekeeping troops are stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh, and keeping the Lachin Corridor under control is their direct commitment under the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020,” Nikol Pashinyan said.
He reminded that on December 30, 2022 a working group headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan was established to support the people of Nagorno Karabakh in managing the humanitarian crisis established. The group has already held several meetings and is making decisions arising from the situation, and will continue operations as long as necessary.
Referring to the current situation in the region in general, the Prime Minister reaffirmed Armenia’s commitment to the tripartite statements of November 9, 2020, January 11, 2021, November 26, 2021, October 31, 2022, as well as to the arrangements reached during the quadrilateral meeting in Prague on October 6, 2022.
He emphasized that under the conditions of the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor, sending of an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor is even more urgent, and and stressed the need to make continuous efforts in this direction.
