‘Time is now for the US & its allies to exert pressure on Aliyev,’ Senate Foreign Relations Committee

YEREVAN, AUGUST 1, ARMENPRESS. The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee has released a statement on Twitter calling on the United States and its allies to exert pressure on Azerbaijani leader Ilham Aliyev amid the ongoing, life-threatening blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The ICRC has served as a lifeline to Nagorno Karabakh. Then Azerbaijan cut off its last remaining source of essential food & medicine. More than 7 months into Azerbaijan's blockade, the time is now for the US & its allies to exert pressure on Aliyev. Lives hang in the balance,” the United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a tweet.

Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh 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. Moreover, Azerbaijan then illegally installed a checkpoint on Lachin Corridor. The blockade has led to shortages of essential products such as food and medication. Azerbaijan has also cut off gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh, with officials warning that Baku seeks to commit ethnic cleansing against Armenians in Nagorno Karabakh. Hospitals have suspended normal operations.

On July 29, a 68-year-old medical evacuee from Nagorno-Karabakh, Vagif Khachatryan, was kidnapped by Azerbaijani border guards while being transported to Armenia for treatment by the ICRC. The Armenian foreign ministrysaid that the Azerbaijani actions amount to a war crime.