11:25,

YEREVAN, JULY 20, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Azerbaijan continues its ethnic cleansing plan in Nagorno Karabakh and that his latest trilateral meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Council Charles Michel in Brussels did not provide any concrete result in terms of opening the Lachin Corridor and overcoming the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh.

“Unfortunately this meeting did not provide any concrete result in terms of opening the Lachin Corridor and overcoming the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh,” Pashinyan said at the July 20 Cabinet meeting. “Politically, in his post-meeting statement the President of the European Council emphasized the need to open the Lachin Corridor and the need to address the agenda of the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh through dialogue between Stepanakert and Baku,” Pashinyan added. This dialogue cannot be productive without international involvement and mechanisms, at least due to the fact that Baku continues its aggressive and threatening rhetoric against Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, with a goal to commit ethnic cleansing in Nagorno Karabakh, he noted.

“This is no longer a theoretical claim, but a concrete plan being carried out through the illegal blockade of Lachin Corridor, directly demonstrated by the complete absence of electricity, natural gas, food and other essential supplies into Nagorno Karabakh aimed at making life in Nagorno Karabakh impossible for Armenians,” Pashinyan warned.

 The Armenian PM noted with regret that the International Court of Justice rulings of February 22 and July 6 ordering Azerbaijan to reopen the Lachin Corridor haven’t been implemented.

Nonetheless, Pashinyan emphasized the need to continue to work in this direction and attract broader international media coverage of the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since December 2022. The Azerbaijani blockade constitutes a gross violation of the 2020 Nagorno Karabakh ceasefire agreement, which established that the 5km-wide Lachin Corridor shall be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Furthermore, on February 22, 2023 the United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) – ordered Azerbaijan 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 been ignoring the order ever since. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations and the Red Cross has been facilitating the medical evacuations of patients.