Artsakh's Foreign Ministry Denies and Strongly Condemns Claims of Military Equipment Movement by Artsakh Defense Army

In a statement regarding the misinformation spread by Azerbaijan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh categorically denies and strongly condemns the false reports circulated by Azerbaijani media claiming that the Artsakh Defense Army is moving and concentrating various military equipment in different directions along the contact line.

By filling the information space with such fake news, as we have repeatedly had the opportunity to verify, Azerbaijan is preparing the ground for further provocations.

We draw the attention of international actors, especially the UN Security Council, to the fact that Azerbaijan is escalating tensions just two days after the Republic of Armenia's demand for an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council regarding the worsening humanitarian situation due to the complete blockade imposed on the peaceful population of Artsakh. This is nothing more than an attempt by Azerbaijan to divert international organizations' attention from the humanitarian disaster that has arisen in the Republic of Artsakh due to the illegal blocking of the Lachin corridor.

We reiterate that since December 12, 2022, the Republic of Artsakh has been under complete blockade due to Azerbaijan's unlawful actions. Furthermore, since June 15, 2023, the people of Artsakh have been deprived of the possibility of importing even the minimum amount of food, medicine, and all other vital goods through the Lachin corridor, even with the assistance of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Russian peacekeeping forces.

In the absence of effective actions from the international community, Azerbaijan continues to violate the provisions of the trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, international universal legal norms, as well as the specific international legal acts adopted regarding the Lachin corridor, including the legally binding decisions of the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights concerning the unblocking of the Lachin corridor.

We demand that all international actors, particularly the Russian peacekeeping forces, take immediate steps to restrain Azerbaijan's possible provocative actions. In the current situation, we deem it imperative to urgently convene an extraordinary meeting of the UN Security Council to make decisions on implementing the necessary and effective measures aimed at the complete and unconditional unblocking of the Lachin corridor.