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The Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) on Saturday issued a comment regarding the recent statement by Toivo Klaar, the European Union (EU) Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia.

In the comment, the Artsakh MFA said it took note of Klaar's post on social media on Thursday.

However, as per the Artsakh MFA, his statements regarding the situation related to the blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan in an earlier interview with the Azerbaijani media on Wednesday raise serious questions regarding their compliance with the status of a neutral mediator, which the EU special representative claims.

Speaking about the supposed legitimacy of Azerbaijan's approach to the Lachin corridor, the EU special representative clearly ignores the general context of the events taking place.

And the context is that Azerbaijan has been illegally blocking the Lachin corridor for almost three months, violating not only the obligations assumed by the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020, but also grossly violating the fundamental rights of the people of Artsakh. Under the pretext of the need to control the Lachin corridor, the armed forces of Azerbaijan resorted to a terrorist operation on March 5, killing three police officers of Artsakh and seriously injuring another.

The Artsakh MFA noted that it should be emphasized that all of Azerbaijan's arguments regarding the blocking of the Lachin corridor, including the theory that the corridor is allegedly used for military purposes, were dismissed by the UN International Court of Justice after a thorough investigation, and this court obligated Azerbaijan to ensure the unhindered movement of people, vehicles, and cargo through the Lachin corridor—in both directions. The Artsakh MFA recalled once again that the decisions of the International Court of Justice are legally binding, and this was announced also by the high-ranking representatives of the EU.

Such expressions supporting the illegal ambitions of Azerbaijan are perceived by the latter as an indulgence of the criminal policy of ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, and this is based on the denial of the inalienable rights of the people of Artsakh to life, self-determination, freedom, and peaceful development.

As per the Artsakh MFA, Azerbaijan strives to create conditions in which nothing will prevent it from establishing control over the entire territory of Artsakh by force and completing its criminal plans to devoid Artsakh of its Armenian population.

According to the Artsakh MFA comment, if the EU special representative is really concerned about the actions that escalate the tension in the region, the ministry advises him to pay attention to Azerbaijan's military provocations, aggressive and belligerent statements, as well as the deployment of new Azerbaijani military units and other military infrastructures in the Azerbaijani-occupied territories of Artsakh.

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This text available in   Հայերեն and Русский
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