The Permanent Representative of Armenia to the OSCE Ambassador Armen Papikyan comprehensively briefed the OSCE Permanent Council on the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) resulting from the Azerbaijani blockade of Lachin corridor since 12 December 2022, the foreign ministry said in a press release.
Speaking at the OSCE Permanent Council session, Ambassador Papikyan said that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are besieged for already two months, and the supply of food and medicine is almost entirely suspended. He emphasized that Azerbaijan’s intentional, intermittent cut-offs of gas and power supply into Nagorno-Karabakh in harsh winter conditions and creation of unbearable conditions for survival have one goal – to force the Armenian population of Artsakh out from their homes and deprive them from their right to live on their own homeland.
Ambassador Armen Papikyan noted that Azerbaijan’s claims that free movement is ensured in the Lachin corridor are false.
He called on OSCE member states to increase pressure on Azerbaijan and highly appreciated the clear statements and positions made by some of the countries who have called on Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally lift the blockade and guarantee free and unimpeded movement along the Lachin corridor, which, however, is not enough.
Papikyan said deploying an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor is imperative to assess the humanitarian situation on the ground and prevent new aggression.
Papikyan also added that in violation of norms of international humanitarian law and the 9 November trilateral statement, Azerbaijan refuses to release Armenian prisoners of war and civilian captives, and the fates of many victims of forced disappearances remain unclear. Papikyan said that the destruction of Armenian historical-cultural and religious heritage in Artsakh continues in areas controlled by Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijan is still denying a UNESCO fact finding mission to access Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions.
