19:01, 8 August 2023
YEREVAN, AUGUST 8, ARMENPRESS. Armenia’s Ambassador-at-Large Edmon Marukyan on Tuesday accused Azerbaijan of committing a crime against humanity in Nagorno-Karabakh after an Azeri presidential envoy admitted in an interview that they are in fact weaponizing hunger as a political tool by blockading Lachin Corridor.
“Representative of the President of Azerbaijan for Special Assignments Elchin Amirbayov in an interview to the French newspaper Le Monde, frankly confessed that Azerbaijan closed the Lachin Corridor and uses weaponization of hunger as a political tool against people of Nagorno Karabakh. We reinstate our demand that Azerbaijan must stop weaponizing hunger as a political tool against people of Nagorno Karabakh to force them accept their "conditions", which is a crime against humanity. End blockade of Lachin Corridor,” Marukyan 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.