18:26, 15 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. On August 15, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a telephone conversation with Catherine Colonna, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of France.

Minister Mirzoyan briefed French counterpart on the details of the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin corridor, stressing that it may turn into a real humanitarian catastrophe in front of the eyes of the international community, the foreign ministry said in a readout.

Ararat Mirzoyan presented the severe conditions, including the acute shortage of food and medicine for the 120,000 population of Nagorno-Karabakh and especially for vulnerable groups. The imperative to ensure the full and uninterrupted functioning of the ICRC, the only humanitarian organization having access to Nagorno-Karabakh, through the Lachin corridor was emphasized.

Minister Mirzoyan touched upon the request of Armenia to convene an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. He stressed that Azerbaijan does not implement multiple targeted statements and appeals by international partners and organizations and, by keeping the Lachin corridor blocked for 8 months, violates not only the statement of November 9, 2020, but also the Orders of the International Court of Justice of February 22 and July 6. Ararat Mirzoyan emphasized that the continuous deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh could jeopardize the efforts of Armenia and the international community aimed at establishing stable peace in the region. He stressed the need to use the existing mechanisms effectively and to take clear steps to lift the blockade of the Lachin corridor.