People in Artsakh Should Starve to Death Before Sanctions Are Imposed on Azerbaijan, Babayan Says

No aid is arriving in Artsakh. In the National Assembly, we discussed that there might have been some assistance sent from the Goris region to Yeghdzahough, but we said that this needs to be clarified,” said Davit Babayan, the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh, in an interview with MediaHub, noting that the information circulating on the internet about aid arriving in Artsakh has no correspondence with reality.

Earlier, footage was released online showing how Azerbaijanis were moving their tents to clear the route for peacekeeping trucks. As a result of media manipulation by Azerbaijani press, the Armenian media also began to report that peacekeeping trucks were passing through the Lachin corridor to deliver humanitarian aid to the Artsakh residents who have been under blockade for 10 days. It later became clear that the goods in the trucks were for Russian peacekeepers, not for the people of Artsakh.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh issued an official statement indicating that the blockade and siege of Artsakh continue.

“As of today, we are in that situation, completely cut off from the outside world and from the Mother Armenia. Our people are facing a humanitarian disaster. It is clear to us, after the discussions in the UN Security Council regarding Artsakh, that the international community is also starting to pay special attention to the situation. It is no coincidence that almost all member countries have made very strict statements, understanding the grave humanitarian situation in Artsakh,” stated Babayan.

We inquired whether the statements made at yesterday's UN meeting were satisfactory and whether Azerbaijan would cease its genocidal policy after those calls, or if they were merely neutral statements directed at both sides, viewed as words spoken in the air since there wasn't a specific emphasis on Aliyev and the Azerbaijani government.

“The fact that the issue of Artsakh has been discussed in the Security Council is significant in itself. We saw that many countries reacted very harshly, calling on Azerbaijan to stop the blockade and siege, which is important for us. Now we are waiting for the consequences. The fact that the most significant body from international organizations is making such calls is already a big step. If Azerbaijan does not respond in any way to the calls of UN member states, then we expect the international community to approach the issue from a different perspective,” Babayan noted.

- So you expect sanctions against Azerbaijan from the international community?
- That is necessary. Should sanctions only be applied when the people of Artsakh are starving to death? If so, then after that, we will not need sanctions.

Earlier, Arthur Mosiayan, the head of the ARF faction in the Artsakh National Assembly and a member of the Permanent Commission on Legal Affairs, also stated in an interview with MediaHub that neither America nor Russia is providing any humanitarian assistance to Artsakh. “Those who talk about humanitarian aid are simply pouring water into Azerbaijan's mill, saying that look, there is no humanitarian disaster,” he said.