The President of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh Arayik Harutyunyan has said he has decided to stop the sit-in he started on July 17 and continue the fight against the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh by working in an emergency mode.
In a statement published on his Facebook page Harutyunyan said that the popular movement in Nagorno Karabakh, his sit-in, as well as other efforts have already achieved some results in drawing international attention to Nagorno-Karabakh’s blockade and pushing them to take action.
Further, he said that during this period, through their efforts they increased international pressure on Azerbaijan, as well as managed to raise international awareness of the situation in Nagorno Karabakh.
He called on other states and international organizations (primarily relevant UN agencies) to follow Armenia’s example and provide urgent humanitarian assistance to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh within the framework of their international obligations.
“Either Azerbaijan will open the Lachin (Kashatagh) corridor to that humanitarian aid, or it will additionally confirm the genocidal nature of its policy with another ban on the entry of humanitarian goods to the disaster area,” he wrote.
Arayik Harutyunyan noted that the trilateral meeting of foreign ministers of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan held in Moscow on Tuesday took place thanks to their efforts, adding that the results of the meeting, however, are not acceptable to them.
He also called on the authorities of the Republic of Armenia to make maximum efforts to have the February 22 ruling of the International Court of Justice implemented and to immediately appeal to the UN Security Council regarding the issue of guaranteeing the security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and ensuring tangible results.
Nagorno-Karabakh’s President also urged Armenians living in Armenia and Diaspora to increase pressure on the main actors of the international community, especially the governments of the permanent members of the UN Security Council (Russia, USA, France, Great Britain and China), as well as the European Union, using all possible means in order to draw attention and push for urgent action.
“These may include civil disobedience, awareness raising, protests and other actions, using harsh and non-standard methods within the limits of admissibility,” he clarified.
“The pressure to open the Lachin Corridor should be increased, using both political and humanitarian and other possible instruments. In that regard, Nagorno-Karabakh authorities are discussing all possible scenarios and steps in order to apply them depending how things develop,” he added.
He also noted that the sit-ins and other actions by others in Nagorno Karabakh continue within the framework of the popular movement, adding he will have regular meetings with them and will jointly discuss what needs to be done.
