13:29,
YEREVAN, AUGUST 12, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan has commended the government of Armenia for requesting an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council regarding the deteriorating humanitarian crisis resulting from the Azeri blockade of the Lachin Corridor.
In a statement released on August 12, Harutyunyan lauded the growing international attention and significant increase of pressure against Azerbaijan seen in recent days.
“It is commendable that, having taken into account the calls by the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh, among others, the Republic of Armenia sent a letter to the President of the UN Security Council to convene an emergency meeting of the Security Council regarding the deterioration of the humanitarian situation resulting from the total blockade inflicted upon the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. It’s important that the letter officially underscores, among others, the goal of genocide prevention,” Harutyunyan said, lauding also the recently released statement by a group of UN experts calling on the Azeri government to lift the blockade.
Harutyunyan added that his latest urgent appeal to the international community, and the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Luis Moreno Ocampo’s expert opinion concluding that the blockade constitutes genocide, were widely covered by the international media and raised awareness.
The Nagorno-Karabakh president also welcomed the statement by genocide scholars calling for immediate UN intervention.
“Of course, statements have been made by other international organizations and countries as well, with a visibly increasing perception of the urgent need to take effective international actions. Certainly, time is of the essence for our people, and the delay causes deaths and sufferings,” Harutyunyan added, calling on all main actors to take effective steps, without further delay and without waiting for greater tragedies, in order to prevent the further course of the ongoing genocide.