By not taking decisive action to compel Azerbaijan to end the now month-long blockade of Artsakh, the international community is “tacitly encouraging” Azerbaijan to continue its “criminal actions,” Artsakh’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Addressing a virtual forum to mark the one-month anniversary of the blockade, Artsakh’s newly-appointed foreign minister Sergey Ghazarian said that the posturing voiced by various countries during the December 20 United Nations Security Council session must be followed
“Concrete and targeted positions were voiced by France, the U.S., Ireland and other countries, and international organizations. Our main message is the following: the blockade of Artsakh is not only the Armenian people’s problem. This is the problem of the entire civilized and advanced world,” Ghazaryan said.
“The month-long blockade of the Republic of Artsakh and its 120-thousand population by Azerbaijan has been the largest attack against the people of Artsakh since the end of the 44-day war in 2020,” said Artsakh’s Foreign Ministry in its statement, which warned that shortages of basic necessities, including medicine, food and fuel are becoming more acute.
The foreign ministry also pointed out that in addition to the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, Azerbaijan is impeding the flow of gas, electricity and now broadband internet connection to Artsakh, effectively shutting it out from the entire world.
“The blockade of Artsakh is a direct continuation of the military aggression against the Republic of Artsakh and its people, unleashed by Azerbaijan in 2020 with the direct involvement of Turkey and terrorist organizations from the Middle East,” said the foreign ministry.
“Having failed to expel the people of Artsakh from its homeland by military means, for more than two years following the establishment of the ceasefire, Azerbaijan has been taking consistent steps to achieve its criminal goals by less obvious, but no less inhumane methods. The efforts undertaken by Azerbaijan and the official statements of its top leadership, which reveal the true intentions of Baku, indicate that the blockade of the Republic of Artsakh is another tool of Azerbaijan’s policy aimed at the annihilation of the people of Artsakh,” added the foreign ministry.
“By deliberately making living conditions unbearable, Azerbaijan is pursuing its goal of destroying the integrity and viability of the people of Artsakh through by attempting to forcibly alienating them from their historical homeland and preventing them from exercising their collective rights. There is no doubt that the actions of Azerbaijan are continuation of its genocidal policy,” the Artsakh foreign ministry emphasized.
“We call on the community of states acting both individually and within the framework of international organizations, in line with universal commitments to protecting human rights and prevent the crime of genocide, to take all necessary measures to immediately prevent the genocidal acts that Azerbaijan is systematically committing against the people of Artsakh in an atmosphere of absolute impunity,” demanded the foreign ministry.
“The international community has the necessary toolkit and all the legal grounds to intervene in the situation in Artsakh, which is deteriorating every day. In the context of the impending catastrophe, inaction on the part of the international community is unacceptable, including for the reason that it is considered by the Azerbaijani authorities as tacit encouragement for their criminal actions,” the foreign ministry said.
