Crisis in Artsakh Becomes More Apparent Without Any Signs of Decline: Vardan Sargsyan

Vardan Sargsyan, representative of the humanitarian crisis management working group in Nagorno-Karabakh, emphasized in a conversation with an Armenpress correspondent on August 7 that there has been a humanitarian convoy stranded in Kornidzor for the past 13 days.

“I regret to state that in the last 13 days, since the humanitarian cargo has been in this part of Kornidzor and due to the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor, the situation has been deteriorating, and the crisis is becoming more apparent without any signs of decline,” he noted.

Sargsyan does not deny that there is an observable increase in the international community's attention and concerns, manifested in continuous statements and calls. According to him, this is also due to the fact that we are receiving information about extremely painful incidents from Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The healthcare system is on the brink of collapse, children are deprived of their right to proper education, there are fainting incidents in bread lines, and visible issues exist for vulnerable groups such as women, children, and pregnant women. In this context, we are also witnessing attempts by Azerbaijan to exploit and politicize this purely humanitarian initiative,” Sargsyan pointed out.

Referring to calls from the international community to open the Lachin corridor, Sargsyan stated that these calls indicate that the disastrous scale of the situation is becoming more visible to the international community.

“The decisions of the International Court of Justice were also significant, stating that the Lachin corridor should be opened and ensure the free movement of people, vehicles, and luggage. Such calls should, hopefully, contribute to pressuring Azerbaijan to realize that the humanitarian crisis is deepening hour by hour in Nagorno-Karabakh, and access to humanitarian cargo must be secured as soon as possible,” he said.

According to Sargsyan, in order to prevent any exploitation of the humanitarian initiative, complete information about transferring the humanitarian cargo to Nagorno-Karabakh has been conveyed to the Russian peacekeeping forces and, through them, to the Azerbaijani side, expecting their support in delivering the cargo to Nagorno-Karabakh. However, as of now, there has been no response, and the convoy loaded with humanitarian aid remains in the same location where it was parked 13 days ago.

“I believe that attention around this purely humanitarian initiative must be maximized, and as many broad circles as possible should have the opportunity to see for themselves and verify that, in fact, the Lachin corridor remains closed, and for this reason, humanitarian cargos are not reaching the population of Nagorno-Karabakh who are in dire need of them. In this regard, we truly expect an increase in this attention,” he concluded.