Author: Babken Chilingarian

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández at the G20 Summit in New Delhi, India

Argentina’s President Alberto Fernández has become the latest target of Baku’s diplomatic attacks when he was called “pro-Armenian” by Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry on Monday.

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry handed a note of protest to Argentina’s Ambassador to Baku Mariangeles Bellusci, when it summoned her to explain remarks made by Fernández, who, during the G20 Summit in India, called attention to the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh as a result of the Lachin Corridor blockade.

Baku accused President Fernández of bias, noting that “statements distorting the prevailing realities in the region using terminology directed against the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan are regrettable.”

In his address to the G20 summit Fernández called out Azerbaijan for their “painful blockade” of the Lachin corridor.

“At a time when there’s war in Eastern Europe, violent conflicts are emerging, which get less public attention but are equally painful, such as the blockade of Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, which has caused a humanitarian crisis, aimed at punishing the Armenian people on its own territory,” Fernández said.

“Argentina reiterates its commitment to multilateralism as a supreme method for international mutual-understanding,” Fernández added.

Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan thanked President Fernández for raising the issue of Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor at the G20 Summit.

“We value messages from international partners, whose purpose is to restore unrestricted movement in the Lachin Corridor,” Mirzoyan said in a post on X.

the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk visits Lachin Corridor on Aug. 25

Azerbaijan on Friday refused to meet with the Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk, who has led the group’s efforts in the region for the past several decades.

Kasprzyk traveled to the Armenian side of the Lachin corridor to inspect the situation on the ground, after which he was scheduled to meet with Azerbaijan.

The APA news agency reported that “official Baku did not see the need for his visit, considered it a waste of time and did not agree.”

Kasprzyk visited the entrance of the Lachin Corridor in the village of Kornidzor in Armenia’s Syunik Province and became acquainted with the situation on the ground, including observing that the convoy trucks carrying humanitarian assistance to Artsakh has been stranded in the village at the foot of the Hakari Bridge.

Kasprzyk told reporters that he’s visiting the entrance of the Lachin Corridor at the instruction of Chairperson-in-Office of the OSCE Bujar Osmani.

“I’ve instructed to visit the adjacent regions of the Lachin Corridor, get acquainted with the situation and report to him. I’ve had many meetings yesterday, and today as you can see I am here, I will return to report on the situation,” Kasprzyk said.

Kasprzyk met with Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan on August 22.

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on Thursday refused to meet the foreign minister Hadja Lahbib after she urged Azerbaijan to lift its blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and recognize Armenia’s borders.

The Azerbaijani government-linked news agency APA cited an unnamed government source as saying that the meeting will not take place because Lahbib made “pro-Armenian statements that are far from reality” in Yerevan.

Artsakh resident block the road connecting Askeran to Aghdam on Jul. 18 (Facebook photo by Arshak Abrahamyan)

The Artsakh presidential office has denied claims made by media outlets suggesting that President Arayik Harutyunyan supposedly has accepted Azerbaijan’s proposal to utilize the Aghdam road to Stepanakert for commercial transit.

The refuted claim was made by the opposition-leaning Yerevan-based Hraparak newspaper, which reported that on Tuesday Harutyunyan convened a security council session and told officials that he had made a decision to begin transport of fuel, medication and other through Aghdam, while food would be supplied through the Lachin Corridor by the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

Harutyunyan’s spokesperson Lusine Avanesyan confirmed to Armenpress on Wednesday that a closed-door session was held with officials on Tuesday but no such decision was mede or conveyed.

She said that Harutyunyan held meetings on August 22 and 23 with various political and public figures to discuss the humanitarian and security issues resulting from Azerbaijan’s blockade, the Artsakh government’s upcoming actions and the proposals received from various mediators aimed at resolving the situation.

“No decision was made, and the discussions continue, and soon President Harutyunyan will personally present the information on the situation and the approaches of the authorities,” Avanesyan added.

Meanwhile BBC, citing Azerbaijani media reports, reported that Artsakh authorities are poised to accept the opening of the Aghdam road and in coming days the sides will meet in Barda to discuss this matter.

Late last month Western-mediated talks between Stepanakert and Baku were canceled, with the Artsakh foreign ministry later confirming that the July 29 abduction and subsequent detention of Artsakh resident Vagif Khachatryan by Azerbaijani forces contributed to the cancellation of the meeting.

Since Azerbaijan announced its scheme to use the Aghdam road for transport of goods to Stepanakert, Artsakh residents have blocked road. The use of the Aghdam road would completely cut Armenia off from Artsakh.