11:43,
YEREVAN, MAY 29, ARMENPRESS. One of the topics discussed last week during the Armenia-Russia-Azerbaijan trilateral talks was the humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh and the illegal closure of the Lachin Corridor, PM Nikol Pashinyan said on May 29.
Armenia discussed the issue with Russia as well, and the results of the discussion are unsatisfactory, Pashinyan said.
Speaking at a joint parliamentary committee session for preliminary debates of the 2022 government budget report, Pashinyan said that the military-political situation in the region remains rather tense.
“Moreover, this is related not only with our difficult relations, but also the ongoing global processes, the events taking place in the relations of Russia, Ukraine, we are now receiving very alarming reports on the events taking place on the border of Iran and Afghanistan, and so on. We have adopted a peace agenda, a strategy of peace, and we are doing everything possible to bring this agenda to life,” Pashinyan said.
Speaking about the trilateral negotiations held in Moscow last week, the Armenian Prime Minister said that one of the topics related to the humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh and the illegal closure of the Lachin Corridor. “We’ve discussed this topic also with our Russian partners. I can’t say that the results of this discussion were satisfactory. We must note that this is a very regrettable situation. And I also had a public occasion to say that the closure of Lachin Corridor took place basically right in front of, and in the presence of Russian peacekeepers, which is certainly very concerning. We will continue our discussions, including with our Russian partners, in the direction of resolving this situation,” Pashinyan said.
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.
Furthermore, under the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement – the Nagorno Karabakh 2020 ceasefire agreement, control of Lachin Corridor should be exercised by Russian peacekeepers.
