Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) National Assembly issued a statement regarding the latest developments and in Artsakh and the closure of Berdzor (Lachin) corridor by Azerbaijani “eco-activists”. The statement reads:
“Yesterday, December 12, a group of so-called environmentalists and journalists, violating all norms of international law, as well as the provisions of the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020 on the cessation of all military operations in Nagorno-Karabakh, closed the Stepanakert-Goris highway again, which is ongoing until now. These provocative actions, directly organized by the official Baku, are aimed at the implementation of the elaborate plans to depopulate Artsakh, to forcefully include it in its composition. After November 9, 2020, Azerbaijan, ignoring the signed Tripartite Declaration, having illegally occupied many territories of the Republic of Artsakh, shells regularly the Armenian settlements, kills and terrorizes civilians, disrupting their normal life in every possible way. Claims and actions of environmentalists have no substantiated justifications, because no recorded environmental threat to the neighboring Azerbaijani territories and the population living there have been recorded over the previous 30 years, which speaks of the Republic of Artsakh as a responsible entity that respects the norms of international law.
The National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh states, that this course of action of the military and political authorities of Azerbaijan is a gross violation of the reached agreements, international obligations, principles and norms of international law, which threatens Artsakh with a humanitarian crisis, bringing our entire people to the brink of genocide.
The authorities of the Republic of Armenia are obliged to take objective and effective steps in order to restore the uninterrupted land connection between the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia as well as to protect the rights of citizens of the Republic of Artsakh.
We expect from the Russian Federation, as a participant in the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020 and guarantor of peace and stability in the region, to take immediate action to curb Azerbaijan's extremist ambitions. Otherwise, we will face the question of the right of Artsakh Armenians to exist and live in their native land as well as the authority of the Russian peacekeeping mission.
We call on international organizations and UN member states to condemn the genocidal policy of Azerbaijan, to urgently convene a session of the UN Security Council and apply practical steps in order to prevent it.
We are appealing to our compatriots in Armenia and the Diaspora to use all opportunities to speak on different platforms about the humanitarian disaster created by Azerbaijan in Artsakh, to stand up for the protection of the rights of Artsakh Armenians and to be ready to take necessary actions accordingly.
Dear compatriots,
Our fight is continuous and the will to live in the native land - unbreakable.
13 December 2022
Stepanakert”
