Strong pressure on Azerbaijan needed to make it respect ICJ ruling,  lift blockade - Ararat Mirzoyan 

ArmInfo. First of all, the blockade of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan is a blatant violation of the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020 which envisages that  Azerbaijan "shall guarantee safe movement of citizens, vehicles and  cargo in both directions along the Lachin corridor," Armenia's FM  Ararat Mirzoyan said in an interview with the Egyptian AlQahera News  agency. 

"One would think that a legally binding decision of the International  Court of Justice, which was adopted on February 22, could have  resolved the situation as the Court ordered Azerbaijan to take all  necessary measures to ensure unimpeded movement along the Lachin  corridor. It is regrettable that so far the decision has not been  implemented.

"Furthermore, I would like to emphasize that the Lachin corridor is  not only a road, but a 5 km security zone. Thus, the sabotage attack  of March 5 in the Lachin corridor, which I mentioned earlier,  violated not only the ceasefire agreement, but also the contact line  and the security zone of the corridor.

"In current circumstances, I would like to stress the imperative of  strong international engagement and pressure on Azerbaijan to  implement the ICJ decision and lift the blockade. Armenia has been  calling for an urgent international fact-finding mission to be  dispatched to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor to assess the  situation on the ground. It's also not a secret that the proposal of  such a mission was repeatedly rejected by the Azerbaijani side,  clearly showing the absence of willingness of Azerbaijani leadership  to be transparent and accountable towards the international  community," Mr Mirzoyan said. 

As to whether there is any recent dialogue or international action  regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh issue, he said: 

"In parallel to blocking the Lachin corridor, the only road  connecting the Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, for more than three  months and creating a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh,  Azerbaijan continues to terrorise the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh  by creating unbearable conditions for living in their homeland with  the ultimate goal of ethnic cleansing. Along with the humanitarian  crisis, Azerbaijan has also provoked an energy crisis in  Nagorno-Karabakh. In cold winter conditions, the authorities of  Azerbaijan repeatedly disrupted and continue to disrupt the gas and  electricity supply.

"The actions of Azerbaijan as well as the aggressive and minimalistic  rhetoric have proven the absolute necessity of international  engagement to address the issues of rights and security of the people  of Nagorno- Karabakh as well as to prevent the clear attempts of  Azerbaijan aimed at the ethnic cleansing in Nagorno- Karabakh. The  position of the international community, including our partners and  friends in the Arab world should be clear against any narrative and  actions perpetrating another genocide, the international system  cannot afford to sustain yet another such failure.

"To conclude, despite all the risks and the fragility of the  situation around my country, Armenia remains determined to make its  contribution to creating a stable region where our generations won't  just dream about living in peace."