Azerbaijan's continuous blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which is the lifeline of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, has put the entire population in complete isolation for the past six months. This was stated by the head of the Icelandic delegation, Birgir Thorarinsson, during his speech at the session of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly (PA) on Tuesday.

The head of the Icelandic delegation reminded his colleagues that the critical infrastructure of Nagorno-Karabakh was also deliberately deprived of natural gas, electricity, and mobile communications.

The population of Nagorno-Karabakh is isolated from the outside world; this is absolutely unacceptable. These actions of Azerbaijan clearly violate the agreement of November 2020, which was signed by the President of Azerbaijan, Thorarinsson emphasized, adding that with its actions, Azerbaijan also violates the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the decision adopted by the International Court of Justice in February.

Innocent people are suffering. What would Azerbaijan do if it found itself in a blockade? The people of Nagorno-Karabakh are no different from other people, no different from the people of Azerbaijan and no different from parliamentarians. They want to live a normal life. Last February, the International Court of Justice recognized the blockade as a case of racial discrimination against Armenians. In an interview given last January, the president of Azerbaijan said that the way out of Nagorno-Karabakh is open and everyone can leave. He forgot to say that “if you leave, you can't come back.” The president's statement clearly shows that the blockade is another proof that the main goal of Azerbaijan is the ethnic cleansing of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan should change its policy and start showing real reconciliation towards its neighbors, start showing that they care about the needs of innocent people, added the Icelandic delegate at the OSCE PA.