Nagorno-Karabakh President Urges Immediate Unblocking of Lachin Corridor Before Russia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan FM’s Meeting in Moscow

STEPANAKERT — In an appeal issued ahead of the July 25 meeting of the Russian, Armenian, and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in Moscow, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) President Arayik Harutyunyan demanded an immediate end to the 225-day blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan and the prevention of the rapidly deepening humanitarian catastrophe.

In his appeal, Harutyunyan notes that instead of pursuing a political settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict and creating an atmosphere of mutual trust between the parties, Azerbaijan is using the blockade as its main tool to implement its political agenda – the ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population.

“Azerbaijan is committing crimes against humanity in Artsakh, which are a direct consequence of Azerbaijan’s gross violations of the Tripartite Statement of November 9, 2020, and well-known international legal documents. After the war, the people of Artsakh believed in the guarantees enshrined in the Tripartite Statement, especially in the mission of the Russian peacekeeping troops, and returned to their homes to restore normal life,” the appeal reads.

The Artsakh President demands that the parties to the Tripartite Statement take practical steps to ensure the immediate opening of the Lachin corridor and guarantee the security of the people of Artsakh, at least within the framework of the commitments undertaken by the parties in the Tripartite Statement of November 9, 2020.

“After ensuring the minimum conditions for the livelihood of our people, it will be possible to discuss all the components of the conflict and ways to resolve them in a relatively favorable environment. However, if the catastrophic situation is not immediately resolved by the parties to the Tripartite Statement, they will bear the brunt of the responsibility for the tragedies to come. Let’s prevent ethnic cleansing!” the appeal reads.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will host Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign Ministers Ararat Mirzoyan and Jeyhun Bayramov in Moscow for trilateral and separate talks  in Moscow.

The foreign ministers will analyze ways to ease the tension around Nagorno-Karabakh and intensify the implementation of the trilateral statements made by the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on November 9, 2020, January 11, November 26, 2021 and October 31, 2022.