The blockade of Nagorno Karabakh is not an isolated episode and should be regarded as part of Azerbaijan's large-scale and systematic policy aimed at ethnic cleansing of the Nagorno Karabakh population through the creation of unbearable living conditions, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said during his speech at a special session of the OSCE Permanent Council.
According to him, Azerbaijan aims to force the population of Nagorno-Karabakh to leave their native lands and homes. The latest statement of the President of Azerbaijan, where it proposes to deport those Armenians who do not want to become citizens of Azerbaijan, proves their intention to carry out ethnic cleansing.
An international fact-finding mission should be sent to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor to assess the humanitarian situation on the ground, as well as uninterrupted humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh for the relevant UN bodies, the FM added.
By blocking the Lachin corridor today, the Azerbaijani side created a humanitarian crisis with far-reaching goals.
According to him, from the very beginning it was obvious that this blockade was a pre-planned operation, directed and financed by the Azerbaijani authorities, under the guise of the so-called "eco-activists" for a credible denial of their actions.
Mirzoyan noted that these actions of Azerbaijan were a blatant violation of point 6 of the trilateral statement of November 9, which clearly states that the Lachin corridor remains under the control of the Russian peacekeeping forces. Azerbaijan guarantees the safety of movement of citizens, vehicles and cargoes in both directions along the Lachin corridor.
The humanitarian crisis is escalating day by day and requires an immediate and targeted intervention by the international community. We cannot stand by and watch as people slowly starve to death because of political games and perhaps geopolitical calculations. It's time to act, the Armenian FM said.
According to Mirzoyan, it is necessary to increase pressure on Azerbaijan to fulfill its obligations. Azerbaijan must bear responsibility for its actions.
It's clear that the OSCE is experiencing bad times, and the situation in the South Caucasus is not the only crisis facing the organization. However, we believe that all conflicts in the OSCE area of responsibility should be given due attention by the organization and its bodies. The OSCE, together with the co-chairmanship of the Minsk Group, has been involved in the political settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the very beginning. Despite all the challenges the Minsk Group still bears responsibility because the political settlement of the conflict has not been achieved yet, said Mirzoyan.
