Armenia requests UNSC meeting to resolve Lachin corridor blocking

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
12 Aug 2023 13:47

According to UN special rapporteurs, the actions taken by Azerbaijan have made the Nagarono-Karabakh region suffer from a critical humanitarian emergency.

Armenian lorries carrying humanitarian aid to the residents of the Nagorno-Karabakh region are seen stranded not far away from an Azerbaijani checkpoint set up at the entry of the Lachin corridor, which is the region's only link with Armenia, July 30, 2023. (AFP)

Armenia has requested an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to resolve the worsening humanitarian situation in the Nagorna-Karabakh region due to the continued blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijani forces, the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.

"On August 11, the Republic of Armenia appealed to the United Nations Security Council with a request to convene an emergency meeting regarding the deterioration of the humanitarian situation as a result of the total blockade inflicted upon the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh," the ministry stated.

In a message addressed to the President of the UN Security Council, Mher Margaryan, the Armenian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, said that there is a deficiency in vital commodities, including basic necessities like food, medicine, and fuel.

On Monday, a joint statement issued by two UN special rapporteurs along with an independent UN expert urged Azerbaijan to lift the blockade on the Lachin corridor without delay since the blockade had led to a critical "humanitarian emergency within the region.

On July 11, Azerbaijan's State Border Service blocked the Lachin corridor, claiming that goods were being smuggled into the region under the guise of humanitarian aid.

For months, Yerevan has accused Baku of blocking traffic through the Lachin Corridor -- a short, mountainous road linking Armenia to Armenian-populated settlements in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Armenia's call for a meeting of the UNSC comes after Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting Friday that trucks carrying pasta, sugar, and baby food had been prevented from entering the region, adding that Baku had "not given any explanation" regarding its decision.

"Armenia, for its part, continues to reaffirm its commitment to the peace agenda and calls on Baku to refrain from steps aimed at nullifying the historic opportunity to establish peace," Pashinyan stressed.

The premier had previously warned of the risk of a new war with Azerbaijan, accusing Baku of "genocide" in the Armenian-populated region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

"So long as a peace treaty has not been signed and such a treaty has not been ratified by the parliaments of the two countries, of course, a (new) war (with Azerbaijan) is very likely," Pashinyan told AFP in late July.