YEREVAN, DECEMBER 14, ARMENPRESS. During a Q&A session in the Parliament, the Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte, in response to the question about Armenia and Azerbaijan, in particularly the current blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan, which is the only road connecting Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, said that the issue has been discussed with the Azerbaijani Ambassador to the Netherlands during the meeting in the foreign ministry on December 14.

“The issue is not on the agenda of the European Council, but it has received the attention of the EU. Obviously, France and other countries are decisively committed to finding a settlement to this conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan through negotiations. This is needed for preventing a new escalation in the future. During the summit of 44 countries in Prague, which was also attended by Armenia and Azerbaijan, such an attempt was made by the President of France. The EU does it by the leadership of President of the Council Charles Michel who is playing quite an active role in the matter, and we support the EU mediation efforts”, the Dutch PM said.

The PM agreed with the lawmaker that the coming reports are very concerning as many people have appeared in blockade.

“Therefore, we will continue to keep this issue in our discussions”, he said.

Azerbaijan is keeping the Lachin Corridor blocked for over 48 hours. Over 1100 people including children, are stranded and unable to return home. Artsakh authorities are unable to transport critically-ill patients to hospitals in Armenia for treatment.

The Lachin Corridor is the only road connecting Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) with Armenia and the rest of the world. Furthermore, on December 13, Azerbaijan cut the gas supply to Artsakh.