11:35, 3 August 2023
YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has urged Azerbaijan not to block the Armenian humanitarian aid convoy’s access to Nagorno-Karabakh as a step showing commitment to the peace agenda.
Speaking at the August 3 Cabinet meeting, PM Pashinyan said that the humanitarian convoy carrying 361 tons of emergency food and medication remains blocked at the entrance of Lachin Corridor. He said that Azerbaijan is grossly violating the terms of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement and the blocking is illegal.
“I call for not obstructing the access of the humanitarian goods sent by Armenia through the Lachin Corridor, as a step of commitment to the peace agenda, moreover because obstructing the passage of the goods is a gross violation of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement and the decisions of the International Court of Justice,” Pashinyan said.
The Armenian Prime Minister pointed out Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s recent statement in an interview with Euronews, where the latter again falsely claimed that the Lachin Corridor is open. Pashinyan said that the Russian peacekeepers deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh ought to comment on this statement, as to why the Russian peacekeepers are failing to ensure the humanitarian convoy’s access to Nagorno-Karabakh if Azerbaijan insists the corridor to be open.
“I believe that an explanation of this issue is important and our relevant bodies must work in the direction of receiving explanations over this matter,” the PM added.
Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to 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. The ICJ reaffirmed its order on 6 July 2023.
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.
On July 25, the Government of Armenia said that it will try to send over 360 tons of flour, cooking oil, sugar, and other foodstuffs and medication to Nagorno-Karabakh to mitigate the humanitarian crisis resulting from the blockade of Lachin Corridor. Armenia requested the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh to escort the aid but Azerbaijan has blocked the convoy.
