EU Again Urges Baku to Open Lachin Corridor

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell speaks at a summit of EU foreign ministers in Toledo, Span on Aug. 31


The European Union’s foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell called on Azerbaijan to open the Lachin Corridor.

“We call on Azerbaijan’s authorities to ensure the safe and unimpeded movement along the Lachin Corridor,” Borrell told reporters on Thursday after a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Toledo, Spain, where the issue of the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh was an agenda item, Armenpress reported.

Borrell statement echoes the wording of a ruling by the International Court of Justice, which in February ordered Baku to open the Lachin Corridor. The ICJ reaffirmed its order in July, yet Azerbaijan has refused to carry out the order, despite international calls for it to do so.
Earlier on Thursday, German Foreign Minister German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock announced that Artsakh situation would be discussed at the Toledo summit

Baerbock said that she and French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna had included the matter on the meeting’s agenda.

The German foreign minister described the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh as “disastrous” and emphasized the importance of opening the Lachin Corridor, according to the Tass news agency.

“We are resolutely calling upon Azerbaijan and Russia, that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh must eventually get what’s necessary for life. The Lachin Corridor must be open for humanitarian aid,” Baerbock said.

Baerbock added that discussions have been ongoing for several days with the United States to guarantee that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh will receive humanitarian aid.