Wednesday’s discussion at the UN Security Council confirmed the crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh due to the closure of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan, and that the lives and safety of 120,000 residents of Karabakh are at risk. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this at Thursday’s Cabinet meeting of the Armenian government.
"The closure of the Lachin corridor was highlighted at the highest international court, but it should not be forgotten that Azerbaijan continuously claims that the Lachin corridor is not closed. It was highlighted also that Azerbaijan did not comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice to ensure the two-way movement of people, cargo, and transport through the Lachin corridor," said Pashinyan.
He noted that the truth about the illegal blocking of the Lachin corridor and the resulting crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh has been spoken at the highest international court. According to him, the international community issued a united call to Azerbaijan to end this illegal blocking of the Lachin corridor.
"Of course, this call has not been implemented. Twenty-two trucks, with around 400 tons of humanitarian cargo, are waiting at the entrance of the Lachin corridor for the opportunity to enter Nagorno-Karabakh. And the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is getting worse day by day. The people of Karabagh who carry out agricultural work come under fire from the Azerbaijani armed forces so that they cannot harvest. On the one hand, Azerbaijan has blocked the entry of 100 tons of flour by the Armenian government into Nagorno-Karabakh. On the other hand, it does not allow the people [of Karabakh] to collect what they have sown in order to have flour. This substantiates the theory put forward by international experts that Azerbaijan is subjecting the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh to genocide through starvation; therefore, the [re]opening of the [Lachin] corridor should be viewed as a step to prevent genocide. The international community needs to focus on this," Pashinyan emphasized.
He stressed again that the best solution to the situation is the unblocking of the Lachin corridor and the start of the Karabakh-Azerbaijan dialogue under international guarantees.
"Armenia continues to reaffirm its commitment to the peace agenda, and calls on Baku to refrain from taking steps to nullify the historic opportunity to establish peace," the Armenian premier said.
