Friday, July 21 2023 10:50

ArmInfo. On July 20, in Vienna, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan participated  in the OSCE Special Permanent Council meeting which was convened at the request of Armenia. 

As the RA MFA reports, before the session, Minister Mirzoyan had a  brief meeting with the Chairperson of the OSCE Permanent Council Igor  Djundev. 

Ararat Mirzoyan delivered remarks at the PC meeting which is  available below. The representatives of more than 10 delegations also  had interventions in essence  reconfirming the imperative to restore  the free and safe movement through the Lachin corridor.  

Mr. Chairperson, Distinguished Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen, I  would like to thank the North-Macedonian OSCE chairpersonship for  convening this Special PC meeting. This is already the second time  that I am addressing this distinguished body during this year, and  it's the second time I am here to speak about the humanitarian  situation in Nagorno- Karabakh caused by the illegal blockade of the  Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan.

I would like to bring to your attention the events that happened  since my last address at the Special PC. 

On February 22, the International Court of Justice issued a legally  binding order against Azerbaijan to take all necessary measures to  ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the  Lachin corridor in both directions.

In stark contrast to this order, on April 23, Azerbaijan illegally  installed a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor, claiming that hereby  it implements the Order of the Court.

On June 15, Azerbaijan went further with fully blocking the corridor  by banning any access to Nagorno-Karabakh, even humanitarian,  including of the International Committee of Red Cross.  On July 6,  the ICJ issued another order reconfirming its previous ruling and  reaffirming Azerbaijan's international legal obligation to take all  necessary measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of  persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both  directions and, therefore to immediately cease the operation of its  checkpoint, as it unquestionably impedes the rights of Armenians  living in Nagorno-Karabakh constituting a discrimination under the  Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

Dear colleagues, As I speak today, the Lachin corridor, the only road  connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with the rest of the world, remains  effectively blocked by Azerbaijan. After more than 7 months of this  illegal blockade, the situation on the ground is rapidly  deteriorating.  I know that our delegation in the OSCE regularly  updates the Permanent Council regarding the situation on the ground,  therefore, I will not go into much details but rather would recap the  main points.

From the humanitarian perspective, the most pressing are the energy  and food security issues, as well as the disruption of the proper  functioning of the healthcare system. I would like to present to you  some facts and figures that will help to have a better understanding  of the situation on the ground.

 In relation to the energy security:  Since January 9, 2023,  Azerbaijan has disrupted the supply of electricity through the sole  high- voltage line between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. There have  been daily six-hour power outages, a 48% decrease in electricity  consumption, and depletion of local electricity production and supply  systems.

Starting from December 13, 2022, Azerbaijan periodically, and since  March 21, almost continuously, has been interrupting the only gas  supply from Armenia to Nagorno Karabakh, thereby deepening the energy  and humanitarian crisis.

Due to the diminishing availability of fuel and other essential  resources and the full interruption of supplies from Armenia, almost  all agricultural work, as well as the functioning of other sectors of  the economy, has halted.

Furthermore, the transport system is also paralyzed, with public  transportation, including the inter-community one, to stop  functioning in the coming days, while private transportation has come  to a standstill long ago. Due to the acute lack of fuel, the internal  public transportation of the capital city of Stepanakert functions  only with 2 buses serving over 60,000 people.  In relation to food  security:

The suspension of all humanitarian supplies since June 15, coupled  with the gradual utilization of limited domestic stocks, has resulted  in an acute food shortage and closures of shops. Prior to the  blockade, around 90% of all consumed food was imported from Armenia,  and with every passing day the people of Nagorno-Karabakh don't  receive 400 tons of essential goods.  Furthermore, by using force and  the threat of force, Azerbaijan continues to obstruct agricultural  activities on approximately 10,000 hectares of land adjacent to the  contact line, which constitutes a significant portion of the total  cultivated land.

As a result, today the people of Nagorno-Karabakh are on the verge of  hunger and starvation.  The illegal blockade resulted in violation of  other fundamental rights of the people of Nagorno- Karabakh,  including:

The right to healthcare, as due to the lack of fuel, the work of the  healthcare system is also affected, being often unable to organize  even emergency transportation of patients to local hospitals. Daily  power outages and fuel shortages have severely impacted the operation  of medical equipment, leading to a decrease in the volume and quality  of healthcare services.  The growing shortage of medications and  medical supplies, coupled with the ban on transporting medical  patients to Armenia, poses an increasing threat to people's lives and  well-being; Due to the lack of essential food and vitamins,  approximately 2,000 pregnant women, around 30,000 children, 20,000  older persons and 9,000 persons with disabilities are struggling to  survive under conditions of malnutrition.

People with chronic diseases, including 4,687 individuals with  diabetes and 8,450 individuals with circulatory diseases, are left  almost without any medicine needed.  The shelves of pharmacies are  completely empty, unable to provide even first aid medicine.  Last  but not least, social and educational rights are also violated due to  the disruption of the functioning of educational institutions and  social services as a result of the blockade.  In light of this  humanitarian catastrophe, we cannot remain silent and indifferent,  but should act decisively and without delay to prevent the looming  tragedy.

We should clearly state and place on record that these actions,  regardless of the fact by whom they are carried out, constitute a  blatant violation of International Humanitarian Law and a breach of  the Geneva Conventions and the Fourth Geneva Convention, in  particular. It is the incontestable obligation of the States to  ensure, and I quote, "the free passage of all consignments of  essential foodstuffs, clothing and tonics intended for children under  fifteen, expectant mothers and maternity cases" and "allow the free  passage of all consignments of medical and hospital stores" intended  only for civilians", end of quote.

These deliberate actions of Azerbaijan cannot be called otherwise  than illegal and inhuman. They not only violate basic human rights  and dignity of the people, but also intend to create unbearable  conditions for living and aim to ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh.   Mr. Chairperson, Colleagues, I would like to now turn to the  political and security dimension and would like to reiterate that the  Armenian side is committed to continuing its efforts for  normalization of relations and opening a new era of peace in our  region.

And taking this opportunity, I would like to highlight the importance  of the negotiations mediated and facilitated by our partners. We  appreciate their efforts and dedication to the peace agenda and a  better future for our region.  We are convinced that durable peace in  the region is possible and it's possible if the sides show utmost  willingness to address the root causes of the conflict. In this  regard, the issue of rights and security of the Armenian population  of Nagorno-Karabakh is key.

As stated recently by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia,  we are ready to recognize Azerbaijan's 86,600 square kilometres,  which includes Nagorno-Karabakh, however with the understanding that  the issue of the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-  Karabakh must be discussed within a framework of an international  mechanism, through Stepanakert-Baku dialogue. The respect for the  territorial integrity of Azerbaijan should not and could not be  anyhow misinterpreted and used as a license for ethnic cleansings in  Nagorno- Karabakh. 

For understandable reasons, I cannot go into much detail regarding  the ongoing discussions and would like to just reaffirm our readiness  to engage in good faith in finding solutions to extremely complex and  sensitive issues and situations.

One of the most important issues in these negotiations relates to the  mutual recognition of the existing interstate borders. According to  the Almaty Declaration of 1991, the administrative borders of the  former Soviet Republics of Armenia and Azerbaijan were recognized as  interstate borders.

Armenia advocates having a clear borderline to avoid any future  territorial claims and exclude the possibility of use of force for  materializing those claims. And in order to avoid any further  ambiguity, we propose to recognise as the basis for the delimitation  of the state border the most recent existing maps.

To our deep regret, it seems that leaving much ambiguity in this  regard is exactly what Azerbaijani leadership has in mind and strives  for.

Furthermore, the establishment of peace and security also requires  the implementation of certain confidence-building measures. With this  in mind, we have proposed to create a demilitarized zone on the  borderline between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Our suggestion is to  relocate the forces to the borderline defined in the 1975 USSR  General Staff maps and start discussions on modalities of the  mentioned demilitarized zone or the distancing of forces.

Unfortunately, the Azerbaijani side is still hesitant to engage in  these discussions, and the proposal of the Armenian side on  mechanisms which was provided to Azerbaijan in written form more than  a year ago has not been even considered.

Another issue of the negotiations agenda is related to unblocking of  regional transport and economic links. Being a landlocked country and  having closed borders with two out of four of our neighbors, Armenia  is very much interested in pursuing this agenda, with the clear  understanding that all communication links shall operate based on the  sovereignty and national jurisdiction of the countries and according  to the principles of equality and reciprocity. The progress achieved  in the last three years on this issue gives us some optimism to  pursue our vision on, as we call it, Armenian Crossroad.

At the same time, we see that in parallel with conducting  negotiations on normalization of relations with Armenia, Azerbaijan  consistently engages in actions on the ground that lead to worsening  of the situation in and around Nagorno-Karabakh. In his speech of May  28 President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev himself publicly confessed  his real intentions and reluctance to properly address the issue of  guarantees of rights and security of the people of Nagorno- Karabakh.

I would just refer to some messages from his speech:  "The border  checkpoint established on the border on April 23 should be a lesson  for Armenians living in the Karabakh region today."

"We are about to take the last step in our plans, and that step will  be taken - I have no doubt about that. I am telling them again from  here, from the land of Lachin which they had been exploiting for many  years and were engaged in illegal settlement, that their book is  closed." "My representative went and held the first meeting with  them, and then we invited them to Baku to talk. They refused to do  that. After that, we invited them to Baku for the second time, i.e.   representatives of the Armenian minority living in Karabakh. They  refused that too. There will be no third invitation. Either they will  bend their necks and come themselves or things will develop  differently now."

These statements, along with the failure by Azerbaijan, under various  false arguments, to implement the legally binding decision of the ICJ  and violation of its commitments under the November 9, 2020  Trilateral Statement, are revealing and clearly illustrate the real  mindset of the Azerbaijani leadership and their stance regarding the  issues related to and resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.  The statements and actions of Azerbaijan equally reveal the lack of  adherence to the international law and calls of the international  community.  Mr. Chairperson, 

Now I would like to turn to the issue of Armenian prisoners of war  and other captives that are still kept by Azerbaijan in captivity  three years after the 44-day war.  Azerbaijan refuses to return all  the Armenian POWs and civilian captives. According to the data  confirmed by Azerbaijan, 33 people, including three civilians, are  still kept hostage in Baku.  Moreover, on 26 May 2023, after the  meetings in Brussels and Moscow, two more servicemen of the Armed  Forces of Armenia, who were delivering provisions and water to combat  outposts, were abducted by the armed unit of Azerbaijan, which  illegally crossed the state border of Armenia. ?n July 7, they were  sentenced to 11.5 years of imprisonment.  This is yet another  violation by Azerbaijan of the international humanitarian law and  Trilateral statement from November 9, 2020.

Mr. Chairperson, Dear Ambassadors, The OSCE, with its mandated  structures, has been engaged in mediating the negotiations to resolve  the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict from the early 1990s. Unfortunately,  the use of force and the war of aggression dealt a severe blow to  these efforts.

Even though Azerbaijan falsely claims that Nagorno-Karabakh is an  internal issue now, the humanitarian catastrophe created by  Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh shows that without a viable  international mechanism, no single Armenian will survive in  Nagorno-Karabakh.

Although talks with Azerbaijan continue, further deterioration of the  situation on the ground in Nagorno-Karabakh risks to seriously harm  the ongoing political process. Thus, all the partners interested in  peace and stability in the South Caucasus should take concrete  actions. The situation is crystal clear: pressuring Azerbaijan to  open the Lachin corridor will greatly contribute to the peace  prospects of our region.

Concluding my speech, I would like to alarm you once again that the  humanitarian catastrophe in Nagorno-Karabakh deteriorates with every  passing hour. The current situation on the ground requires urgent  attention of the international community. Needs assessment mission to  Nagorno- Karabakh by relevant international organisations and  humanitarian assistance to the affected population is of utmost  importance.

Armenia expects the Azerbaijani side

-  to restore freedom and security of movement of persons, vehicles  and cargo, in line with the previously reached agreements, through  the Lachin corridor;

-  to implement the order of the International Court of Justice,  issued on 22 February 2023 and reconfirmed on 07 July 2023;

-  to provide humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh and cooperate  with relevant international organizations, particularly with the  United Nations agencies;

-  to resolve any outstanding issues related to or resulting from the  Nagorno-Karabakh conflict exclusively through peaceful means.  Thank  you very much for your attention.  Closing Remarks I would like to  thank all those delegations who just spoke up clearly and  unambiguously about the inadmissibility of the dire humanitarian  situation created by the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor.   Let me once again emphasise that the situation in Nagorno Karabakh is  disastrous and can have unpredictable consequences. We are not  speaking about a looming crisis anymore; we speak about the ongoing  humanitarian disaster. The mediaeval practices should be ceased. This  cannot continue if we are serious about values and principles.  The  international community in general and the OSCE in particular cannot  remain silent simply because the lives of 120 thousand people are at  stake.  The siege of Nagorno-Karabakh and the blockade of the Lachin  corridor should be immediately lifted and the issues related to and  resulting from the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict should be addressed  properly and in good faith. This will pave the way for advancing the  negotiations on the normalisation of relations between Armenia and  Azerbaijan and bring the much-awaited peace to the region.  Silence,  indifference and inaction are not an option anymore. International  mechanisms should react swiftly within their mandated activities and  existing instruments designed exactly for addressing such situations.   Thank you.