Artsakh Foreign Ministry responded to the media inquiry
about the opening of alternative routes, namely the Aghdam road. Today, the
Russian Kommersant referred to this matter as well.
The question was phrased as follows: “The Russian
Kommersant in an article titled “Artsakh vs. Karabakh”, citing an unnamed
source in Russian state structures, informed about a proposal from the Russian
Ministry of Foreign Affairs to first open the road through Aghdam and then
resume the movement through the Lachin Corridor. What is the position of
Artsakh on this issue?”
Artsakh Foreign Ministry replied that Artsakh has
consistently maintained a principled stance on the issue.
“This stance is firmly grounded in both the provisions
outlined in the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020, specifically Article 6
of which clearly defines the operational parameters and regime of the Lachin
Corridor, as well as the principles of international humanitarian law.
It should be noted that any initiatives which seek to link
the use of the Lachin Corridor, and that in a restricted manner, with unrelated
matters or alternative routes, including through Aghdam, are essentially
attempts to legitimize Azerbaijan’s breach of its international commitments
concerning the Lachin Corridor and to call into question the Trilateral
Statement signed by their country’s president on 9 November 2020. This approach,
put forward by Azerbaijan, intentionally infringes upon the rights and dignity
of the people of Artsakh and stands in contradiction to the norms of
international humanitarian law and human rights law.
We reiterate that the proposal regarding the use of alternative
transportation routes is part of Azerbaijan’s policy aimed at exploiting the
humanitarian catastrophe it has created and the threat of hunger as a weapon
and a means to forcefully subjugate Artsakh and its people,” reads Artsakh
FM’s response.
