09:54, 6 September 2023
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 6, ARMENPRESS. The United States State Department has reiterated its call to immediately reopen the Lachin Corridor amid "deteriorating humanitarian conditions" in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022. The blockade has led to severe shortages of essential products such as food and medications.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson on September 5 expressed “deep concern” over the “deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the continued blockage of food, medicine, and other essential goods.”
“This is something that we are going to remain deeply engaged on….We are deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the continued blockage of food, medicine, and other essential goods. The U.S. has worked continuously with the sides over the past several weeks to allow humanitarian assistance to reach the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, and we reiterate our call to immediately reopen the Lachin corridor to humanitarian, commercial, and passenger traffic as well,” U.S. State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said at a press briefing.
The U.S., among other countries, has numerously called for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, but Azerbaijan hasn’t changed course and continues to keep the road under blockade.
Lachin Corridor is the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh, which is home to 120,000 Armenians, to Armenia and the rest of the world.
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.
Earlier in August, former International Criminal Court prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, issued a report warning that the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh constitutes genocide.