Azerbaijan must be held accountable for its actions. Azerbaijan must be made to understand that there are international rules to which everyone must submit. This was stated by Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan in his speech before the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, referring to the humanitarian catastrophe created in Nagorno-Karabakh.
“There are two theoretical options for lifting the blockade of the Lachin corridor: military or diplomatic. Armenia is committed to the second option, but that is possible only in the case of decisive intervention by the international community, strong pressure on Azerbaijan and tangible actions in that direction. The time to act is now. Azerbaijan must be held accountable for its actions,” Mirzoyan said.
In his speech, the Minister noted that the blockade of the Lachin corridor must be viewed as part of a large-scale and coordinated policy implemented by Azerbaijan, aimed at the ethnic cleansing of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.
“By creating unbearable living conditions, Azerbaijan aims to force the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to leave their homes and ancestral land. The recent statement by Azerbaijan’s president, in which he offered to expel those Armenians who do not wish to become citizens of Azerbaijan, once again proves their intention to carry out ethnic cleansing,” the Minister said.
The Minister stressed that since the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh is worsening day by day, the immediate intervention of the international community is necessary. And, as stated in the European Parliament’s emergency resolution, the dispatch of an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor to assess the humanitarian situation on the ground. Ensuring the unimpeded humanitarian access of the relevant UN bodies to Nagorno-Karabakh is also an imperative of the day.
“We cannot stand aside and watch people slowly starve to death because of political games and, perhaps, geopolitical calculations,” he said.
