Humanitarian situation in Artsakh continues to be extremely tense- Pashinyan
YEREVAN, December 22. /ARKA/. The humanitarian situation in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) continues to be extremely tense, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said at a government meeting today.
"The crisis in the Lachin corridor, which began last week, is still not resolved except for restoration of natural gas supply. The humanitarian situation in Artsakh continues to be extremely tense due to the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor," Pashinyan said.
He noted that hundreds of families continue to be separated on different sides of the blockade. "In Nagorno-Karabakh there is a shortage of a number of essential goods, including food," the Armenian Prime Minister stated.
The Lachin corridor, which is the sole road connecting Karabakh to Armenia has been blocked by groups of Azerbaijanis since December 12. They demand that their government officials and environmentalists be allowed to inspect “illegal” mining operations in Karabakh and assess their environmental impact.
Armenian and Karabakh officials accuse Baku of organizing the blockade in an effort to drive the Karabakh Armenians out of their homes.
As a result, there are growing shortages of fuel, drugs and some foodstuffs in Karabakh.
"The blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan is illegal and grossly violate its international obligations, in particular the trilateral statement of November 9. De facto it turns out that Russian peacekeepers do not fulfil their obligations stemming from the trilateral statement, namely to ensure save travel and control along the Lachin corridor," Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said.
"The essence of Russian peacekeeping contingent is to prevent such lawlessness from happening and, in particular, to keep the Lachin corridor under control.
"I must say that Azerbaijan keeps trying to accuse Armenia of failing to fulfill its commitments. Such efforts are groundless and futile," Pashinyan said.
He said that the humanitarian catastrophe surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh has received quite a large international response.
"On the eve there was a crucial discussion on the issue in the UN Security Council and different countries and organizations continue to make clear their assessments of the situation. I would like to thank all the countries and international organizations for giving a clear assessment of Azerbaijan’s actions," he said. -0-
