U.S . Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan
French Ambassador to Georgia Diego Colass
EU Ambassador to Georgia Pawel Herczynski
Dear ambassadors, it is already the third day that the so-called “Environmentalists” organized by the Azerbaijan authorities have closed the only corridor connecting Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, due to which hundreds of thousands of people have been in a total blockade in the 21st century. This catastrophic blockade, which takes place in the middle of winter, has separated thousands of people. Apart from that, hundreds of people who have health problems cannot go to Yerevan to get urgent help. According to the information of the local population, there is already a problem of fuel in Karabakh, and in the future, if this inhumane blockade continues, a problem of food and heating may also arise. Along with this, it should be noted that according to yesterday’s data, Azerbaijan also closed the gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh, which is also a screaming manifestation of inhumane treatment, especially in cold weather conditions.
Closing the Lachin Corridor and taking the people of Karabakh under a total blockade is not only a gross violation of the 2020 the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2011, but also all the negotiation points, among which there was a clear point about the Lachine Corridor during the last three decades and which were negotiated with the mediation of the USA and the Republic of France. In addition, such an inhuman blockade violates all kinds of international humanitarian norms and has resulted in the most serious humanitarian disaster for the population of Nagorno Karabakh. With this act of intimidation, the authorities of Azerbaijan seek to commit genocide or displace the indigenous people of Nagorno-Karabakh by creating an atmosphere of pressure and fear, as well as vandalize the Armenian cultural and religious monuments, which were done in the cities and villages under their influence during the 2020 war.
As for the Russian peacekeepers stationed there, who were entrusted with the security of the corridor according to one of the points of the tripartite declaration, then they either cannot or do not want to ensure the normal operation of the corridor, which calls into question the impartiality and expediency of their presence. We believe that international peacekeeping forces established by the United Nations should be deployed in Nagorno Karabakh and the role of the USA, France and the EU should be great in this matter.
The USA, France and the EU provided great help to the Armenian people during the 1915 genocide, which we can never forget.
In their statements of December 13, your governments expressed a clear position regarding the closure of the Lachin Corridor, demanding Baku to end the illegal blockade, for which the Armenian people are very grateful. However, in our opinion, this is not enough, and the USA and France should intensify their efforts to prevent another new genocide in the 21st century.
Director of the Samtskhe-Javakhk Media Analytical Center: Eduard Ayvazyan
President of the “Javakheti” People’s Movement: Norik Karapetyan
President of the NGO “Javakheti”: Stepan Hakobyan
Co-Chairman of the party “Virk”: Davit Rastakyan