KORNIDZOR, AUGUST 5, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian humanitarian convoy carrying emergency food and medical supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh remains blocked by Azerbaijan at the entrance of Lachin Corridor for the 11th day.

Armenian government official Vardan Sargsyan, a member of the working group in charge of responding to the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, said that the situation is attracting increasing international attention, and many countries and parliamentarians are demanding Azerbaijan to end the blockade.

The foreign diplomats, journalists and members of humanitarian organizations, and others, who’ve visited the village of Kornidzor have seen with their own eyes the situation on the ground and obtained reliable information on the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, Sargsyan said.

He noted that Azerbaijan continues to react unconstructively to the Armenian humanitarian initiative. The various attempts to manipulate the issue are debunked when the international diplomats and representatives of various organizations visit Kornidzor and witness that the Lachin Corridor is blocked by Azerbaijan. 

The official expressed hope that the international attention will eventually lead to the reopening of the Lachin Corridor and that the humanitarian convoy will have access to Nagorno-Karabakh.

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.  

“We cannot turn a blind eye to the situation that Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are currently facing,”  Pashinian posted on social media platform X when the convoy was sent from Yerevan. “The 360 tons of vitally important foodstuff sent to Nagorno-Karabakh is exclusively for humanitarian purposes,” he added.

Pashinyan warned that if Azerbaijan blocks the Armenian humanitarian aid convoy from entering Lachin Corridor it would corroborate Armenia’s fears that Baku seeks to commit genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh.

On July 28, members of the diplomatic corps of Armenia visited the village of Kornidzor near the blocked Lachin Corridor and inspected the convoy.

UN Armenia office representatives visited the area on August 3.