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    Sonya Jalatian
  • 1 year ago
    • Categories: 2023

Azerbaijan starts contradicting itself, official’s statement falsely denying blockade exposes ‘aid’ was publicity stunt

 15:45, 6 September 2023

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani authorities have once again falsely claimed that the Lachin Corridor is not blocked and there is no starvation in Nagorno-Karabakh, just days after the Azerbaijani authorities themselves infamously staged a publicity stunt by offering to send aid there, a move that was rejected and described in Nagorno-Karabakh as a method to subjugate them and mislead the international community.

Armenia’s Ambassador-at-Large Edmon Marukyan reacted to Hajiyev’s claims, asking why Azerbaijan was sending that “mysterious humanitarian aid” to Aghdam if it claims that there’s no blockade.

“During an interview with Arab News, Aliyev's assistant Hikmet Hajiyev said that the Lachin corridor is not blocked and there is no blockade in Nagorno Karabakh. By this, Azerbaijan wants to deceive the international community about the fact that the Lachin Corridor is illegally blocked, which has been confirmed by such renowned international organizations as Human Rights Watch, the UN Security Council and confirmed by the interim decisions of the UN International Court of Justice that the corridor is blocked and the people are starving. After all, if the Lachin Corridor is not blocked and there is no siege and hunger in Nagorno Karabakh, as Aliyev's aide claims, then why did Azerbaijan send that mysterious humanitarian aid to Aghdam?” Marukyan said in a post on X.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh, which is home to 120,000 Armenians, 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.

Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of using the blockade to commit ethnic cleansing and genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Sonya Jalatian: