The European (EU) is following with great concern the serious humanitarian crisis that is taking place in the autonomous region of Nagorno-Karabakh. EU representative Silvio Gonzato announced this at Wednesday’s emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.

Movement in the Lachin corridor has been obstructed for more than 8 months now, despite the decision of the International Court of Justice to reopen it, since June 15 the disruption of the corridor has been complete—except for medical evacuations, the population is in dire need of emergency materials and supplies, and this may lead to serious consequences for the local population, he said.

According to him, the Red Cross humanitarian deliveries should not be politicized and movement should be reopened through the Lachin corridor, under to the tripartite statement and the decision of the International Court of Justice, the parties are obligated to ensure the movement through this corridor, thus preventing further deterioration of the crisis.

Gonzato said they consider it necessary for Azerbaijan to ensure the supply of goods from the direction of Aghdam town of Azerbaijan, but not to consider this as an alternative to not reopening the Lachin corridor. He noted that first of all, the efforts should be aimed at ensuring the safety and rights of the population and at encouraging the dialogue between the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and Baku.

The representative of the EU added that there were shootings on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border last month, which was documented also by the EU monitoring mission patrolling in Armenia, and called for an end to tough rhetoric as a basis for peace and negotiations for the normalization of relations.