19:43, 8 August 2023
YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan has stressed the need to implement international calls and statements and reopen the Lachin Corridor.
“Among others, we appreciate targeted [statements] by European Parliament, voice of EU citizens, which got stronger in course of Nagorno Karabakh blockade &violation of ICJ Orders by Azerbaijan. Now international efforts should be directed at the implementation, with relevant tools, & reopening of Lachin Corridor,” Badalyan posted on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
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.
On July 26, Armenia sent a humanitarian convoy carrying emergency food and medication for Nagorno-Karabakh, but Azerbaijan blocked the trucks at the entrance of Lachin Corridor.