Azerbaijan Ignores Hague Court Decision and Initiates Arbitration Against Armenia: Armenian Representative

The Republic of Armenia (“Armenia”) expresses its regret over the attempts by the Republic of Azerbaijan (“Azerbaijan”) to advance its public communication agenda through the initiation of arbitration under the Energy Charter Treaty (“Energy Charter”). This was stated by the representative of Armenia at the European Court of Human Rights.

“Azerbaijan's claims regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict have no relation to the obligations stipulated by the Energy Charter concerning investments and trade in the energy sector. The attempt by Azerbaijan to distort the framework and purpose of the Energy Charter is particularly regrettable at a time when the conference on the Energy Charter is concluding negotiations on its modernization. Such abuse of the Energy Charter undermines all efforts of the Contracting Parties to ensure that the Energy Charter continues to operate in accordance with its purpose, which is to serve as a framework for sustainable investments and trade in the energy sector.

Azerbaijan submitted the notice of arbitration just days after the decision of the International Court of Justice, which mandated Azerbaijan to “ensure the unimpeded movement of people, vehicles, and cargo” along the only road connecting the 120,000 ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh to the outside world. However, Azerbaijan has ignored the Court’s binding decision and the calls from the international community to implement it, exacerbating the humanitarian disaster in Nagorno-Karabakh. Apparently, by initiating baseless proceedings within the framework of the Energy Charter, Azerbaijan aims to divert attention.

Azerbaijan's actions will not undermine Armenia's commitment to the Energy Charter, the work of the Energy Charter Conference, and the promotion of sustainable investments and trade in the energy sector.

It should be noted that Azerbaijan announced the initiation of inter-state arbitration against Armenia the day before, demanding financial compensation from Yerevan for the illegal operation of energy facilities located on its territory from 1991 to 2020.