14:00,
STEPANAKERT, JULY 25, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan has slammed the Azerbaijani government’s narrative claiming that Nagorno Karabakh is its domestic matter for being similar to what the Nazi leaders tried to represent as justifications for their actions during the Nuremberg trials.
“The Azerbaijani claims that the Artsakh issue is their domestic matter reminds us of the Nazi Germany leadership’s justifications during the Nuremberg trials when they were describing mass murder as a domestic matter,” President Harutyunyan said at a press conference.
He called on the international community to take action and prevent genocide against the people of Nagorno Karabakh by Azerbaijan.
“Azerbaijan is deliberately creating the kind of conditions that are aimed at either partial or complete destruction of the people of Artsakh. This constitutes genocide under international law, and it provides for all members of the international community to take steps to prevent the crime of genocide,” he said.
Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 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.