YEREVAN, JUNE 29, ARMENPRESS. The Azerbaijani policy of escalation and depopulation of Nagorno Karabakh is becoming more and more visible for the international community and the adoption of Resolution 2256 by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) serves as the most recent evidence for this, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at the Cabinet meeting on June 29. 

Pashinyan quoted the resolution’s clause 15 as stating that PACE is extremely worried by the hostile and threatening rhetoric used against Armenians at the highest level of Azerbaijan’s leadership and urges Azerbaijan to repudiate such rhetoric and take steps to tackle both hate speech, including by public and high-level officials, and hate crimes.

Clause 8 of the resolution states that the current situation is not sustainable and may well lead to the Armenian population being forced to leave their homes and communities if there is no resolution to the conflict. 

In this context, PACE urgently calls for addressing the issues of the rights and security of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh through dialogue between Baku and Stepanakert and a neutral international involvement in any peace implementation mechanism to be put in place.

PACE also stated that the Azerbaijani blockade of Lachin Corridor constitutes a violation of the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement, recorded the fact that gas and power supply into Nagorno Karabakh is interrupted and called on Azerbaijan to immediately restore the supplies and comply with the ruling of the ICJ on opening the Lachin Corridor.

Pashinyan highlighted the fact that PACE is assessing the situation in Nagorno Karabakh as a humanitarian and human rights crisis, and calls for an immediate deployment of a fact-finding mission and addresses the Committee of Ministers.

“The resolution adopted by PACE is a highly important document in terms of increasing international attention around the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno Karabakh and the Armenian Foreign Ministry will be consistent in keeping the provisions of the resolution in the agenda of the Committee of Ministers, the executive body of the Council of Europe,” Pashinyan said.