Armenia expects international pressure on Azerbaijan to lead to reopening of Lachin Corridor

YEREVAN, AUGUST 3, ARMENPRESS. The visits of the representatives of the international community are aimed at showing the real situation in the Lachin Corridor and debunking the fake news by the Azerbaijani government claiming that the corridor is open, Davit Knyazyan, the Head of the Department of Multilateral Policy and Development Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, told ARMENPRESS.

“This is highly important in order to show that Azerbaijan’s claims that the corridor is open are untrue, and that Azerbaijan is not implementing the binding obligations stipulated under international humanitarian law and the well-known rulings of the International Court of Justice. As you can see, today we organized the visit of representatives of the UN Armenia office to Kornidzor, so that they ascertain with their own eyes that Azerbaijan has imposed a total blockade against Nagorno-Karabakh with all subsequent consequences which we are witnessing today,” Knyazyan said.

He said that the foreign ministry has great expectations that international pressure on Azerbaijan will allow to reopen the Lachin Corridor and deliver the humanitarian aid.

“We have positive developments in this regard. There’ve been numerous statements from the EU, the Council of Europe, most recently the UN and partner countries. The issue is widely covered by the international press. We continue to work to strengthen the international community’s pressure on Azerbaijan, to achieve our goal, which is exclusively humanitarian,” he added.

The visit of international partners also allowed debunking the Azerbaijani fake news accusing Armenia of preparing a provocation, Knyazyan said.

“There’s no such threat, the humanitarian convoy trucks are parked at a safe distance, and the Armenian side has properly notified the Russian peacekeeping forces on its request, and through them also the Azerbaijani side in advance, prior to the convoy arriving here. The fact that the cargo is here for over a week and there hasn’t been a chance to transport it shows Azerbaijan’s destructive approach and its genocidal policy of subjecting the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing,” Knyazyan said.

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. The ICJ reaffirmed its order on 6 July 2023.

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 25, the Government of Armenia said that it will try to send over 360 tons of flour, cooking oil, sugar, and other foodstuffs and medication to Nagorno-Karabakh to mitigate the humanitarian crisis resulting from the blockade of Lachin Corridor. Armenia requested the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh to escort the aid but Azerbaijan has blocked the convoy at the entrance of the Lachin Corridor.