Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan (left) with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg in Vienna on Jul. 19
Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said that guaranteeing the security of the people of Artsakh was an important precondition for peace in the South Caucasus.
He made the statement on Tuesday in Vienna after meeting with his Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg, adding that the lifting of the now seven-month-old Azerbaijani blockade of Lachin is a priority to Armenia and sought the assistance of international partners for compelling Baku to adhere to decisions and orders to that end.
“We are confident, and I believe that Armenia is not alone in this, that stable peace in the region is possible if the issues of the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are properly addressed within the framework of an international mechanism, through the Stepanakert-Baku dialogue,” Mirzoyan told reporters during a joint press conference with Schallenberg.
“In this context, it is regrettable to state that instead of engaging in such a dialogue, Azerbaijan is currently pursuing a policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh, a clear manifestation of which is the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh which has been going on for more than seven months now,” Mirzoyan added.
“Nagorno-Karabakh is now on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe. This is happening in violation of international humanitarian norms and contrary to numerous appeals of international actors, resolutions and the legally binding Order of the International Court of Justice of February 22, which, by the way, the Court reaffirmed with its Order of July 6 this year,” explained the foreign minister.
Mirzoyan voiced Yerevan’s readiness to advance the peace talks and also open transportation routes between Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, he said, these elements may be achieved without the ongoing use and threat of force by Azerbaijan, which continues to employ aggressive rhetoric toward Armenia and Armenians.
He also said that the release of all Armenian prisoners of war being held in Azerbaijan must also serve as a precondition for the advancement of processes to attain peace.