12:07,
YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani propaganda has for long been creating an information background for a large-scale attack on Nagorno Karabakh and the trends of tensions are visible on the ground, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan warned Thursday.
“Our assessment remains the same, the Azerbaijani military-political leadership is making preparations for ethnic cleansing and genocide against the people of Nagorno Karabakh. By and large, this assessment is also present in the February 22 ruling of the International Court of Justice, where it is clearly recorded that the closure of the Lachin Corridor can result in irreversible humanitarian consequences for the people of Nagorno Karabakh. In this regard I find it important and urgent for Armenia to take measures in direction of initiating international mechanisms for genocide prevention. I am speaking about the mechanisms envisaged within the framework of the United Nations. I have given a relevant instruction to the foreign ministry about this,” the PM said.
He said they continue to work in order to send an international fact-finding mission to Lachin Corridor and Nagorno Karabakh.
“I believe the fact-finding mission is important also for addressing the groundless claims by Azerbaijan accusing Armenia of maintaining an army in Nagorno Karabakh and arms shipments from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh. These claims are groundless, and Azerbaijan is attempting to use it as a new pretext for a regional military escalation, therefore sending an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno Karabakh and Lachin Corridor is becoming a necessity in this regard.”
He said the matter was discussed during the EU-mediated meeting with Azerbaijani President Aliyev in Prague in December. The Azerbaijani president claimed during the meeting that Armenia maintains a military presence in Nagorno Karabakh. In order to refute the claim, Pashinyan said he offered to send an international fact-finding mission to NK to confirm Armenia’s claim that it has no army there, however Aliyev himself rejected the idea.
