Artsakh President Issues Statement

Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan has issued a statement. Dear compatriots, today I convened an urgent meeting of the Security Council to discuss the issue of the blockade of the Lachin corridor connecting Artsakh with Armenia by Azerbaijan, and the installation of a checkpoint.

All members of the Artsakh Security Council unanimously adopted a statement, which, in particular, emphasizes: "Highlighting that the entire people of Artsakh had faith in the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, and the security guarantees provided by the Russian Federation, and returned to their Homeland and began organizing normal life. Stressing that since the signing of the trilateral statement, Azerbaijan has repeatedly violated various provisions of the document by killing Artsakh residents, seizing new territories, and since December 12, 2022, has kept the people of Artsakh under blockade for 133 days, deprived of electricity for 104 days, and without gas supplies for 67 days.

Welcoming the repeated positions expressed by the Russian leadership regarding the continuity and strength of security guarantees for the people of Artsakh and the unacceptability of the installation of an Azerbaijani checkpoint in the Lachin corridor, we consider it absolutely unacceptable the blockade of the Lachin corridor connecting Artsakh to Armenia, which falls under the responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping forces, and the installation of a checkpoint there by Azerbaijan on April 23.

Noting that, with this step, the people of Artsakh have definitively become hostages in the hands of Azerbaijan, with an increasing risk of ethnic cleansing, and that the further implementation of the trilateral statement is seriously jeopardized. We appeal to the parties to the trilateral statement, and especially to the Russian Federation, to start immediate discussions on the lifting of the blockade of Artsakh, preventing the establishment of an Azerbaijani checkpoint, and ensuring real security guarantees for the people of Artsakh.

We expect effective actions in the shortest possible time towards solving the security and humanitarian issues faced by the people of Artsakh, the absence of which will allow the authorities and people of Artsakh to determine their future actions."