Armenia have said many times that Article 6 of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020 regulating issues related to the Lachin corridor does not provide for any function of Armenia related to the smooth operation of the corridor, Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan told Armenpress news agency.
"Ensuring the normal operation of the corridor is the responsibility of the peacekeeping forces of Russia and Azerbaijan. And the issues related to the internal life of Nagorno-Karabakh are the responsibility of the Nagorno-Karabakh authorities, and the Armenian authorities have no function here as well. I can only add that the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh caused by the blockage of Lachin corridor is already approaching a humanitarian disaster, and if the corridor is not opened immediately, there will be an urgent need for humanitarian intervention of the international community, including first of all the UN," Mirzoyan said.
Referring to the fact that Azerbaijan has recently started justifying the closure of the Lachin corridor by allegedly transporting ammunition, particularly mines, from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at his press conference that the Azerbaijani side provided them with data on the matter, which they are studying, the Armenian Foreign Minister said: "I have to note that Azerbaijan often claims that the corridor is not closed, then says that the blocking of the corridor has environmental reasons, then when it was stated that the mine presented under this issue has stopped its activities, persons acting as environmental activists demanded to check the Red Cross cars and humanitarian cargoes passing through the corridor, then they broke into the transport of children returning home to Nagorny Karabakh in masks accompanied by Russian peacekeepers, and terrorized children. And now these actions are motivated by the imaginary movement of mines.
"Let me stress once again that the Republic of Armenia carried out mines only in the sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia and did it only for self-defense, because in 2021 it was subjected to military aggression from Azerbaijan - in May 2021, in November 2021 and in September 2022. And now the threat of new military aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia remains high.
"The mines which the Azerbaijani side claims to have manufactured in 2021 for propaganda purposes and which were recently moved from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh through the Lachin corridor, were in fact brought to Azerbaijan in 2021-2022 from the territory of Armenia occupied as a result of Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia."
As for Baku's claims that the Lachin corridor is open, the Armenian Foreign Minister noted: "This is another reason why we suggest sending a fact-finding team from the UN or OSCE or any other international organization to the Lachin corridor, and we will continue promoting this idea.
