We continue clashing serious security challenges in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation region. The 44-day war that happened in Nagorno-Karabakh in autumn 2020, the ongoing war in Ukraine have serious geopolitical consequences for common security architecture. Speaker of the National Assembly of Armenia Alen Simonyan stated this during his speech Thursday at the parliament speakers’ summit in Ankara dedicated to the 30th anniversary of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC).

“In 2021, afterwards in September 2022 Azerbaijan initiated the next unprovoked military aggression along the eastern and south-eastern borders, invading and conquering our sovereign territories.

“At this moment, it has already been 5 months that Azerbaijan grossly violating the provisions of Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020, has blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only life road of Nagorno-Karabakh, being under the responsibility of the peacekeepers of the Russian Federation, which resulted in the humanitarian crisis. On April 23, Azerbaijan set up an illegal checkpoint at the starting point of the Lachin Corridor. Though the Azerbaijani side insists on the fact that the Corridor is open, but actually it continues remaining closed for free transportation.

“The crisis had a wide international response. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), the UN International Court of Justice made decisions on unblocking of the Lachin Corridor, which were despised by the official Baku.

“Two and a half years passed after war, but until now Azerbaijan holds at least 33 prisoners of war.

“The situation being created after the aggression against Armenia cannot become as a basis for stable and lasting peace,” added the Armenian parliament speaker.