09:51,

YEREVAN, MAY 12, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan held a phone call with his Portuguese counterpart João Gomes Cravinho on May 11.

The foreign ministry said in a readout that Mirzoyan and Cravinho ‘exchanged views around the Armenian-Portuguese bilateral agenda and discussed the importance of mutual high-level visits for maintaining the dynamics of political dialogue, as well as the prospects of development of cooperation between the two countries in trade-economic, cultural and IT’ sectors.

Partnership in international platforms, as well as issues relating to the Armenia-EU partnership were also discussed.

The two FMs also discussed regional security and stability. The Armenian foreign minister spoke about the latest developments around the Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization of relations. FM Mirzoyan stressed that Azerbaijan’s continuous aggressive policy and provocations are aimed at disrupting the efforts aimed at the negotiations process, with the latest such manifestation being the May 11 provocations against the sovereign territory of Armenia.

The Armenian FM presented to his Portuguese counterpart the humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh resulting from the illegal Azerbaijani blockade of Lachin Corridor, emphasizing that Azerbaijan’s actions constitute a violation of not only the terms of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement and norms of international humanitarian law, but also an explicit disregard for the unambiguous calls by international partners and the International Court of Justice ruling.

Lachin Corridor – the only road linking Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world – has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022. The United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan on 22 February 2023 to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. Azerbaijan has so far ignored the order.