14:56,

YEREVAN, MAY 18, ARMENPRESS. United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power has called for the roads into Nagorno Karabakh to be reopened.  

“Nagorno Karabakh shouldn’t have to rely on humanitarian convoys. Prior to late last year, you had commercial traffic moving freely into the area. So it’s absolutely imperative that the roads into Nagorno Karabakh are reopened,” Power said at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on the FY2024 Foreign Aid Budget.

Power did not answer Congressman Brad Sherman’s question whether the blockade of Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh "meets USAID's definition of a crisis."

She mentioned that the ICRC has been delivering humanitarian supplies to the blockaded people of Nagorno Karabakh, and that the latest ICRC convoy moved in on May 17.

Congressman Chris Smith asked Power whether any U.S. aid has been delivered to Nagorno Karabakh.

Power said that access into Nagorno karabakh has been very limited due to the blockade. “You asked how food is getting in, when it is getting in. It should be getting in through commercial means as it always was, but since the road is blocked and the checkpoints have been erected commercial access has not been possible,” she said, adding that supplies are delivered by the ICRC and Russian peacekeepers.

She said that the USAID sent two assessment missions to the region and that the U.S. is encouraging the UN to send an interagency assessment mission as well.

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Meanwhile, the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) criticized Power in a Facebook post for “dodging a straightforward Congressional inquiry” when asked whether the blockade of Artsakh "meets USAID's definition of a crisis."

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.