YEREVAN, DECEMBER 13, ARMENPRESS. The Parliament of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) released a statement addressing the international community to prevent the humanitarian disaster facing the people of Artsakh.

“In violation of all norms of international law, as well as the terms of the 9 November 2020 trilateral ceasefire statement, yesterday, on December 12, a group of self-described environmentalists and reporters again blocked the Stepanakert-Goris highway, which continues up to this moment. These provocative actions organized directly by official Baku are aimed at realizing their plans for achieving an exodus of Armenians from Artsakh and forcefully incorporating it in its composition.

After 9 November 2020, Azerbaijan, ignoring the trilateral statement signed by itself, has unlawfully captured numerous territories of the Republic of Artsakh, regularly shelled Armenian settlements, killed and terrorized the peaceful population and with all means disrupted their normal course of life.

The demands and actions of the self-described environmentalists are void of any substantiations because in the last 30 years there’ve been no ecological threats recorded from Artsakh into the neighboring Azerbaijani territories and the population living there, which shows that Artsakh is a responsible entity respecting norms of international law.

The National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh states that this conduct of the Azerbaijani military-political authorities is a gross violation of the agreements, international obligations, norms and principles of international law, which threatens to cause a humanitarian disaster in Artsakh, bringing our nation to the brink of genocide.

The authorities of the Republic of Armenia must take substantive and practical steps for the restoration of uninterrupted land connection between the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia and protection of the rights of the citizens of the Republic of Artsakh.

We expect the Russian Federation, as a party to the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement and guarantor of peace and stability in the region, to immediately take action to restrain Azerbaijan’s maximalist aspirations which are jeopardizing the existence of the Armenians of Artsakh and their right to live in their homeland, as well as the reputation of the Russian peacekeeping mission.

We call on international organizations and UN member states to condemn Azerbaijan’s genocidal policy and with the goal of preventing to convene an emergency session of the UN Security Council to take practical steps.

We are addressing our compatriots in Armenia and the Diaspora to use every possibility in various platforms to voice about the humanitarian disaster created by Azerbaijan in Artsakh, to support the protection of the rights of the Armenians of Artsakh and stand ready to take necessary actions in this direction.

Dear compatriots, our fight goes on, and our will to live in our homeland is unbreakable,” the Artsakh parliament’s statement reads.