Author: Emil Lazarian

 15:29,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 22, ARMENPRESS. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) facilitated the transfer of 7 patients from blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia for treatment.

The Nagorno-Karabakh healthcare ministry said the patients were accompanied by their attendants. Another 7 patients who’ve completed treatment in Armenia are expected to be transported back to Nagorno-Karabakh on Tuesday.

The healthcare ministry said that Azerbaijan continues to block ICRC supplies of essential medications and medical items into Nagorno-Karabakh.

28 children are hospitalized in the Arevik clinic, 4 of them are in neonatal and intensive care.

85 patients are hospitalized in the Republican Medical Center in Stepanakert. 3 of them are in intensive care (2 are critically-ill).

 17:30,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 21, ARMENPRESS. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia continues its activities in the UN and other platforms, foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said in response to media inquiries on the UNSC emergency meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh and possible subsequent developments.

She said that the international community, the members of the UN Security Council interested in real, lasting stability in the region must take clear steps, unite efforts in order to lead the developed understanding regarding the importance of reopening the Lachin corridor and the immediate resolution of the problem with effective use of existing mechanisms.

Question: On August 16, an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council was held regarding the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. The countries expressed their positions, but it was not reflected in any document. Why was there no decision made, no document adopted? Did Armenia present such a document?

Answer: As we have already noted, we highly appreciate the principled positions voiced so far by our partners, international bodies during this and the previous meeting of the UN Security Council held in December, as well as on other international platforms, which are in line with the primary mandate of the UN Security Council of maintenance of international security and peace, the universal values of human rights protection and, perhaps what is the most urgent at the moment, the understanding of the need to prevent Azerbaijan's aggressive actions and a new humanitarian catastrophe in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Procedurally, the format of the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is a discussion, it does not directly imply adoption of a document (resolution or statement). In addition, the 15 (permanent and non-permanent) members of the UN Security Council have the right to submit and initiate voting of draft resolutions of the UN Security Council. Not being a member of the UN Security Council, Armenia does not have such authority.

The discussion in the format of the UN Security Council provides an important platform, an opportunity to focus the attention of the international community on the possible catastrophic consequences of the situation, to activate the Council's efforts to address it and to foster their possible coordination and to outline the further steps.

Question: Is that the end of the process?

Answer: By no means. This is an ongoing process. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia continues its activities in the UN and other platforms. Today, the international community, the members of the UN Security Council interested in real, lasting stability in the region must take clear steps, unite efforts in order to lead the developed understanding regarding the importance of reopening the Lachin corridor and the immediate resolution of the problem with effective use of existing mechanisms.

Question: Why was the emergency meeting of August 16 convened under the title "The letter of September 13 of the Permanent Representative of Armenia to the UN addressed to the President of the UN Security Council"? Why wasn't a new letter or application sent by Armenia?

Answer: After Armenia’s request to the UN Security Council after Azerbaijan's aggression against the sovereign territory of Armenia in September 2022, a relevant agenda point of the UN Security Council was formed under the title you indicated. This is an accepted practice in the UN Security Council and has a very simple technical justification – not to burden the Security Council agenda with different formulations of the same or very similar issues.

I would like to emphasise that, in the letter of September 13th, Armenia brought to the attention of the UN Security Council the letter of the Minister of Foreign Affairs which indicated Azerbaijan's armed attack and the ongoing aggressive actions against both Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh highlighting that they threaten international peace and security.

Later, starting from December 2022, discussions regarding the blockade of the Lachin corridor and the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh took place with reference to the mentioned letter and under the relevant agenda point.

It is noteworthy that ahead of the both meetings in December 2022 and in August this year, Armenia presented concrete requests, letters to the attention of the members of the UN Security Council aimed at raising the issue of the blockade of the Lachin corridor. In addition, several dozen letters were distributed addressing the blockade and the humanitarian crisis both in the UN Security Council, the General Assembly, and other international platforms.

 14:33,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 19, ARMENPRESS. The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention has issued an Active Genocide Alert in Nagorno-Karabakh and called on international leaders to take immediate action against Azerbaijan to prevent further deaths after a man died of starvation resulting from the blockade.

"The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention is distressed by the news of the death of K. Hovhannisyan, 40, who died of starvation on August 15, 2023, as a direct result of the Azerbaijani blockade of Artsakh, as evidenced by reports from both the coroner and the medical examiner of the Republic of Artsakh,” the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention said in a statement. “The Artsakh blockade, which has been ongoing since the 12th of December, 2022, is the cause of increasing malnutrition, miscarriages, and medical complications related to people being unable to access proper food and medical care. Now, the blockade has begun to cause the direct death of Armenian citizens of Artsakh through starvation.

“This blockade is genocidal in its intent, which is to eliminate the Armenian population of Artsakh, either through mass displacement or mass starvation. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has himself said as much on several occasions, including in his statement on May 29th, 2023, when he threatened: “There will be no third invitation. Either they themselves will come to us humbly, or events will develop in a different direction. We have every opportunity to carry out any operation in that region. Therefore, the “parliament” must be dissolved, the element calling itself “president” must surrender, all “ministers,” “deputies,” and others must already leave their posts. Only in this case can we talk about any kind of amnesty.”

“The Lemkin Institute wants to make clear that leaders such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Russian President Vladimir Putin, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, U.S. President Joe Biden, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and all other leaders who have created the impunity with which President Aliyev now operates, are directly responsible for the death of this man, as well as any others who may die as a result of this blockade. They also may be complicit in the crime of genocide.

“The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention wants to once again make clear that any individual and/or state enabling Azerbaijan in the blockade of Artsakh, whether directly through foreign aid or indirectly by refusing to use all the diplomatic tools at their disposal, is complicit in this genocide of the 120,000 citizens of the Republic of Artsakh, and could be held responsible for complicity in a court of law. It is urgent that international leaders take immediate action against Azerbaijan to prevent further deaths in the Republic of Artsakh,” it added.

 11:09,

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan has cut off the internet fiber-optic cable near its illegal checkpoint in Lachin Corridor, disrupting Nagorno-Karabakh’s (Artsakh) internet access, a senior Nagorno-Karabakh official said Friday.

Artak Beglaryan, the advisor to the State Minister of Nagorno-Karabakh, said in a statement that Azerbaijan cut off the cable at 17:55 on August 17.

Nagorno-Karabakh specialists tried to approach the area together with Russian peacekeepers to restore the cable but were not allowed to proceed by Azeri authorities.

Beglaryan said negotiations between the peacekeepers and the Azerbaijani side continue in order to allow specialists to access the site and repair the cable.

“I don’t find it to be a coincidence that this new crime took place after the UN Security Council meeting and literally five minutes before the start of a press conference on the genocide in Artsakh. As a result of this provocation, the Artsakh-based speakers of the press conference, the Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan and displaced citizen Alvina Nersisyan, were able to join the two other speakers, Artsakh Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan and former ICC chief prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo, 45 minutes late using unstable and alternative communication. Despite the Azerbaijani efforts, the press conference took place, with 130 participants from 27 countries. Now, very limited volume of internet is accessible in Artsakh through unstable radio communication, which is also continuously under Azerbaijani jamming,” Beglaryan added.

 13:05,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijan continues to distort the appeals of the international community, to look for false pretexts, not corresponding to reality, to avoid fulfilling its obligations and, by prolonging the humanitarian crisis, including through starvation to subject the indigenous people of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing, the Armenian Foreign Ministry warned on Friday.

In a statement, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said that the UN Security Council, convened on August 16 at the request of the Republic of Armenia, once again proved that, despite the false propaganda of Azerbaijan, the international partners are clearly aware of the fact of the dire humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and realize the importance of addressing it.

Below is the full statement released by the Armenian Foreign Ministry.

“The urgent meeting of the UN Security Council, convened on August 16 at the request of the Republic of Armenia, once again proved that, despite the false propaganda of Azerbaijan, the international partners are clearly aware of the fact of the dire humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and realize the importance of addressing it. During this second discussion in the format of the UN Security Council, the assessments and targeted appeals addressed to Azerbaijan, in essence, complemented the clear positions expressed so far by various governments, international structures, and human rights organizations.

“Noteworthy were the statements of the members of the UN Security Council and the EU representative reiterating that Azerbaijan is obliged to lift the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor in accordance with the Trilateral statement of November 9, 2020, and the legally binding Orders of the UN International Court of Justice of February 22 and July 6. It was unequivocally emphasized that the ongoing 8-month-long severe humanitarian situation created for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of the blockade should be resolved.

“It is evident that Azerbaijan continues to distort the appeals of the international community, to look for false pretexts, not corresponding to reality, to avoid fulfilling its obligations and, by prolonging the humanitarian crisis, including through starvation to subject the indigenous people of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing. Moreover, Azerbaijan tries to manipulate any "balanced" approach of international actors, interpreting it as an explicit permission to continue its adopted policy.

“We emphasize the urgency of using all available international tools to eliminate the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh and restore unimpeded movement in both directions through the Lachin corridor and ensure unhindered access of international humanitarian organizations to Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia, highly appreciating the principled and fair positions of the UN Security Council members that remain faithful to their mandate to advance international security and peace, will continue to work on various platforms, including in the UN Security Council, taking consistent steps to unblock the Lachin corridor and resolve the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.”

 16:13,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS. U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Kristina Kvien has emphasized U.S. support for Armenia’s sovereignty and security, as well as lasting peace in the South Caucasus, the U.S. Embassy said in a press release.

“Ambassador Kvien traveled to Vayots Dzor to meet with local officials and observe the security situation on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The Ambassador met with the Governor of Vayots Dzor, the EU Monitoring Mission, and local military representatives, joined by Armenian Ambassador to the U.S. Lilit Makunts. Ambassador Kvien emphasized U.S. support for Armenia’s sovereignty and security, as well as lasting peace in the South Caucasus,” the U.S. Embassy said.

 21:22,

YEREVAN, AUGUST 18, ARMENPRESS. NovAir airlines will launch Yerevan-Kapan passenger flights on the occasion of Kapan Day, on August 19, the Civil Aviation Committee announced Friday.

The airline will use a Let L-410 Turbolet aircraft to operate the roundtrip flights.

"The Kapan airport served more than 10 flights every day operated with Yak-40 planes in Soviet years. Back then, the flight approach, landing and climb [airways] partly passed through the airspace of Soviet Azerbaijan. However, since the reopening of the “Syunik” airport in Kapan, new modern airways were introduced, according to which the approach, climb and landing are carried out exclusively in Armenian airspace. According to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, every state has complete sovereignty over its airspace and the flights carried out in the given state’s territory are not subject to coordination with neighboring states. Information on flights that are carried out on the borderline of two countries is provided to the neighboring state as a notice, which the aviation authorities of the Republic of Armenia have been doing so far. The Republic of Armenia acts in line with the concept of sovereignty and international laws on civil aviation, which every member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is bound to strictly adhere to,” the Civil Aviation Committee said.

Shots were fired on August 18 from the territory of Azerbaijan in the direction of the "Syunik" airport in Kapan, the National Security Service of Armenia (NSS) said in a statement Friday.

The shooting happened hours after a plane carrying Prime Minister Pashinyan in Kapan on August 17.

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 09:26, 15 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ararat Mirzoyan will participate on August 16 in the U.N. Security Council emergency meeting on the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, the foreign ministry spokesperson said on Tuesday.

“On August 16, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan will be in New York to participate in the emergency meeting of the UN Security Council convened at the request of Armenia regarding the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh as a result of the total blockade by Azerbaijan,” foreign ministry spokesperson Ani Badalyan said in a statement.

 11:07, 15 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 15, ARMENPRESS. Nagorno-Karabakh has denied and condemned the false accusations made by the Azerbaijani government on troops movements and warned that Baku’s disinformation campaign seeks to pave the way for future provocations.

In a statement, the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Ministry of Foreign Affairs urged all international actors, and in particular, the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent, to immediately take appropriate steps to deter the possible provocative actions of Azerbaijan.

Below is the full statement:

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh strongly refutes and condemns the fake news spread by the Azerbaijani mass media that the Defense Army of Artsakh is moving and concentrating various military equipment in different directions of the Line of Contact.

“As we have repeatedly made sure, Azerbaijan is paving the way for further provocations by filling the media field with such fake news.

“We draw the attention of international actors, and especially the UN Security Council, to the fact that Azerbaijan is escalating the situation just two days after the request of the Republic of Armenia to convene an emergency session of the UN Security Council related to the deteriorating humanitarian situation caused by the complete blockade imposed on the civilian population of Artsakh by Azerbaijani authorities. It is nothing but an attempt to distract the attention of international structures from the humanitarian disaster provoked in the Republic of Artsakh by Azerbaijan's illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor.

“We reiterate that since December 12, 2022, the Republic of Artsakh has been under total siege, resulted from Azerbaijan’s illegal actions. Moreover, since June 15, 2023, the people of Artsakh has been deprived of the opportunity to import even the least amount of food products, medicines and all other vital goods through the Lachin Corridor via the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent.

“Thus, due to the lack of efficient steps by the international community, Azerbaijan continues to violate the provisions of the Trilateral Statement of November 9, 2020, universal international legal norms, and specific international legal acts related to the Lachin Corridor, including the legally binding decisions of the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights on lifting the blockade of the Lachin Corridor.

“We urge all international actors, and in particular, the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent, to immediately take appropriate steps to deter the possible provocative actions of Azerbaijan.

“In the current situation, we consider it imperative to convene an emergency session of the UN Security Council as soon as possible for passing a decision on taking the necessary and efficient measures aimed at the complete and unconditional unblocking of the Lachin Corridor.”