Speaker of the Armenian National Assembly Artur Tovmasyan has welcomed the resolution on Lachin corridor adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on Thursday.
“The people of Artsakh have been under total siege for a long time, having been deprived of even humanitarian aid in the past week. In fact, the right of the Armenian population to live in their homeland is being violated in front of the eyes of the international community,” Tovmasyan said.
“In the context of all this, the PACE resolution calling on Azerbaijan to unblock the corridor, to immediately implement the decisions of the ECHR and the highest court of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, to restore the supply of electricity and gas to Nagorno Karabakh, to ensure transport and people’s traffic in Lachin corridor in both directions is welcome,” the Speaker said.
“It is important to emphasize that Azerbaijan is urged to abandon the hostile and threatening rhetoric used against Armenians, to resolve the rights and security issues of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh through a dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert, as well as ensuring neutral international involvement,” he added.
The Assembly calls on Azerbaijan to invite the Council of Europe delegation to visit the Lachin Corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh on a fact-finding mission to assess the situation on the ground. The Assembly also calls on Azerbaijan to allow other international organizations, including UN institutions, to enter the region.
“In that context, we inform that the use of any mechanism aimed at peace is acceptable to us, international observation and fact-finding missions are welcome, which will shed light on the current situation and curb Azerbaijan’s aggressive policy,” Artur Tovmasyan noted.
“The emphasis of the Assembly that the current situation is not stable and may lead to the Armenian population leaving its homeland is also important,” he added.
“The entire burden of the created situation lies with the leadership of Azerbaijan, which is further exacerbating the tension in the region and bringing the conflict to a dead end with its intensifying anti-Armenian rhetoric and provocative actions,” Tovmasyan concluded.
