A regular meeting of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe (CoE) took place Wednesday, at which the delegation of Armenia raised the issue of the illegal blocking of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan.

Ambassador Arman Khachatryan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the CoE, first presented the gross violations of the ceasefire and provocative actions by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh on Wednesday, as a result of which four Karabakh soldiers were killed.

He emphasized that the ongoing blocking of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan, the latter’s installation of concrete barriers there, the disruption of natural gas and electricity supply to Karabakh, the intimidation of its civilian population through hate speech and threats clearly prove that Azerbaijan is consistently trying to carry out Armenian ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Also, Ambassador Khachatryan presented to the CoE Committee of Ministers the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) resolution, entitled "Ensuring free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor," adopted on June 22, by which PACE warns that the current situation is not stable and may lead to the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh being forced to leave their homes. and communities. He stressed that PACE calls for urgent addressing of the rights and security issues of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh through the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue, and demands to set up a CoE fact-finding mission as soon as possible.

The permanent representative of Armenia to the CoE noted that with the PACE consultation addressed to the CoE Committee of Ministers on the Lachin corridor, PACE draws the attention of the Committee of Ministers to the humanitarian and human rights crisis related to Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh—and as a result of Azerbaijan's unilateral actions.

Also, Ambassador Khachatryan urged the CoE Committee of Ministers to take clear steps to address the issues raised by the PACE consultation and to respond to this deliberate human rights crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

At the meeting of the CoE Committee of Ministers, there was also an exchange of ideas with PACE President Tiny Kox and CoE Commissioner for Human Rights Dunja Mijatovic. The Armenian delegation emphasized the importance of the engagement of the PACE and the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights in addressing the human rights and humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the blocking of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan.