On December 14, Deputy Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Mnatsakan Safaryan and Vahe Gevorgyan held a meeting with the heads of diplomatic representations accredited in Armenia and representatives of international organizations, the Foreign Ministry of Armenia said.
The foreign diplomats were reported on the current humanitarian situation caused by the blocking of the Lachin corridor, the only route connecting Artsakh and Armenia, by Azerbaijan since December 12.
In his remarks Mnatsakan Safaryan said that the recent actions of Azerbaijan, including similar incidents in the Lachin Corridor, the continuous ceasefire violations and the cutting of gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh obviously show that the closure of the Lachin Corridor has been pre-planned by the Azerbaijani authorities and is aimed at creating a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.
It was also stated that the actions of the Azerbaijani side are a gross violation of the 2020 November 9 trilateral statement, in particular point 6th of that statement. In this context the necessity of a targeted response by the international community to the Azerbaijani actions was emphasized as a mean to prevent humanitarian disaster and ethnic cleanings in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Mnatsakan Safaryan also stressed the need for the withdrawal of Azerbaijani armed forces from the sovereign territory of Armenia, as well as the imperative of addressing the humanitarian problems caused by the 44-Day war, including the repatriation of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians who are illegally held in Azerbaijan.
Deputy FM Vahe Gevorgyan said that with such actions Azerbaijan is grossly violating its international commitments and proves that real dialogue between Stepanakert and Baku is impossible without an international mechanism. He also said that these actions of Azerbaijan distort the efforts of the Armenian aimed at the establishment of stability and peace in the region.
