10:06, 30 August 2023

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Residents in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) have blocked the Aghdam-Stepanakert road after Azerbaijani authorities announced plans to send what they described as “humanitarian aid” through that road in an apparent effort to whitewash their own lengthy record of human rights violations and disregard for international law. 

The Azerbaijani authorities, who have caused a humanitarian disaster in Nagorno-Karabakh by blocking the Lachin Corridor, have now unilaterally decided to send what they described as “humanitarian aid” to the victims of their own actions. Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani authorities themselves have been blocking Armenian and French humanitarian convoys at the entrance of Lachin Corridor.

Nagorno-Karabakhis believe that Azerbaijan’s move is actually a publicity stunt for the international community and part of a plan to subjugate Nagorno-Karabakh because Baku doesn’t have any intentions of helping them.

The residents blocking the road said despite the severe humanitarian crisis they don’t want to accept any help from a “murderous state,” which has itself created the crisis by blockading the Lachin Corridor.

“We can’t allow the opening of this road, because it would mean the death of Artsakhis. If the Azerbaijanis were to enter Artsakh even under the pretext of humanitarian aid, we wouldn’t be able to stop them. We don’t have the right to open this road, it will bring us death, as a result of doing so we would gradually leave Artsakh,” one of the demonstrators warned.

Former Mayor of Askeran, Alyosha Gabrielyan, told Artsakh news outlet that the Azerbaijanis have passed through the Russian peacekeeping checkpoint and want to install tents.

“We are two to four hundred meters away from the Azerbaijanis. We are here to obstruct the access of that so-called aid. We don’t need their aid. Let them open the Lachin Corridor,” Gabrielyan said.

Russian peacekeepers said they won’t allow the Azerbaijanis to advance any further, according to Davit Ghahramanyan, a photojournalist with the Artsakh InfoCenter.

 10:47, 30 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. The Russian community of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) has held a meeting in the Stepanakert Culture and Youth Palace.

Alexander Bordov, the Head of the Russian Community, said in his speech that the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is now facing a difficult situation and praised the Nagorno-Karabakh residents for their “resilience and willpower” in honorably withstanding the challenges.

“Of course, we remember that it wasn’t easy for our grandfathers and fathers, because the entire history of the holy land of Karabakh has been a struggle for freedom, life, and the right to live on your own ancestral land,” Bordov said.

Both the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Russian peacekeepers are facing a difficult, crisis situation, he said.

“We must definitely stand on the same side of the barricades today,” he added.

“Of course we don’t have anything against the population of Azerbaijan, but we are against the blockade that has been continuing for 206 days and the other actions by the Azerbaijani military-political leadership taken in the Karabakh land, contrary to the trilateral statement. This all, as well as historical memory about the tragic events in Sumgait, Baku and Nagorno-Karabakh when cruel crimes were committed against the Armenian population, dictates the impossibility of being part of Azerbaijan and coexistence in these conditions, the wounds of losses are too deep,” Bordov said.

He called on everyone to contribute to having a safe and prosperous Artsakh.

The representatives of the Russian community attached importance to the Armenian-Russian friendship and discussed options for resolving the situation resulting from the blockade.

 10:58, 30 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. On August 29, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Ararat Mirzoyan had a meeting with Dunja Mijatović, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe. The meeting took place on the sidelines of Minister Mirzoyan’s visit to the Bled Strategic Forum in Slovenia, the foreign ministry said in a press release. 

The interlocutors emphasized the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, dire conditions of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and human rights violations resulting from Azerbaijan’s ongoing 8-months-long blockade and total siege since June 15, as well as the urgency of overcoming the situation. The Foreign Minister noted that by its actions Azerbaijan openly demonstrates its real goal – to subject the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing.  

Foreign Minister of Armenia appreciated the statements of the Commissioner for Human Rights of the CoE regarding the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh voiced the day before, as well as since the blockade of the Lachine corridor, emphasizing the need for unimpeded implementation of possible steps within the framework of the Commissioner’s mandate and CoE tools.

Effective cooperation of Armenia with the Office of the Commissioner of the CoE in matters of human rights protection was also touched upon.

 14:28, 30 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan has met with a delegation from India’s National Defense College led by Commandant of the college, Lieutenant General Sukriti Singh Dahiya.

India’s Ambassador to Armenia Nilakshi Saha Sinha accompanied the delegation.

Suren Papikyan welcomed Lieutenant General Sukriti Singh Dahiya and the other members of the delegation representing other partner countries. He highly appreciated the initiative of visiting Armenia given the current course of development of the Armenian-Indian relations in the defense sector, the defense ministry said in a press release.

Minister Papikyan presented the ongoing military reforms and the course and prospects of the defense cooperation between Armenia and India, and answered the questions asked by members of the delegation.

 14:44, 30 August 2023

KORNIDZOR, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Armenian authorities have opened a humanitarian headquarters in the village of Kornidzor near the entrance to the Lachin Corridor as a venue for foreign journalists and guests who are visiting the area as part of joining the humanitarian aid.

Vardan Sargsyan, a member of the Armenian government’s humanitarian crisis response group for Nagorno-Karabakh, told reporters that the French humanitarian convoy led by the Mayor of Paris has already arrived to the border area and the Russian peacekeepers are aware of the arrival.

Sargsyan said he hopes that the increase in international awareness will boost the process and it will be possible to deliver crucial supplies and mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

“Like we said, our steps are continuous, and the only goal is to deliver humanitarian aid to the people of Nagorno-Karabakh as soon as possible,” Sargsyan said, adding that the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is deteriorating hour by hour.

 14:49, 30 August 2023

STEPANAKERT, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have an unambiguous decision to keep the Aghdam-Stepanakert road closed, Speaker of Parliament of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Davit Ishkhanyan said at a press conference.

He added that the Russian peacekeepers and Nagorno-Karabakh police have posts on that road.

He described the Azerbaijani government’s move on sending trucks to the road as a “provocation” aimed at misleading the world that the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) is its domestic issue.

“We have one road, which is called the Lachin Corridor, where unimpeded transit of humanitarian goods and generally any transit from Artsakh to Armenia and Armenia to Artsakh must be restored and ensured, this is stipulated in the 9 November 2020 document. The Azerbaijani narrative on launching the Akna [Aghdam]-Stepanakert road is no news, it’s at least three weeks old, when it attempted to realize it along with presenting the offer through Western and Russian colleagues. The Azerbaijani side’s step of yesterday is unacceptable for us,” the Speaker added.

Azerbaijan is attempting to shut down the Stepanakert office of the Red Cross through the Red Crescent, he warned.

“The presence of that international organization [ICRC] is an advantage and opportunity for us. The International Committee of the Red Cross office has been functioning in Stepanakert for nearly 30 years as a separate entity, directly subordinate to Geneva. It’s no secret that ever since the 2020 war Azerbaijan has directed every effort to push the ICRC office out of Stepanakert, out of Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said.

Van Novikov

 15:01, 30 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Armenia has filed an application to the European Court of Human Rights with a request to indicate interim measures against the Government of Azerbaijan to protect the rights of the three civilians who were kidnapped in Lachin Corridor on August 28, the Office of the Representative of Armenia on International Legal Matters said in a statement.

 15:30, 30 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh have closed the Aghdam-Stepanakert road with barricades and barbed wire after Azerbaijani authorities said they were sending what they described as “humanitarian aid” through that road, a move vehemently decried by Nagorno-Karabakh as an attempt by Baku to subjugate them and mislead the international community.

Videos posted online show Russian peacekeepers blocking the part of the road where the Azeri trucks are now parked.

The road is blocked by residents of Nagorno-Karabakh as well, who have installed tents there. Nagorno-Karabakh has rejected any Azeri aid and insists on the reopening of the Lachin Corridor. 

Azerbaijanis have also installed tents in that section.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijani authorities themselves have been blocking Armenian and French humanitarian convoys at the entrance of Lachin Corridor.

Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijan since late 2022, resulting in an ongoing humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.

 15:39, 30 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. President of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) Arayik Harutyunyan held an online meeting with the Mayor of Paris and other French regional officials who escorted a humanitarian convoy intended for Nagorno-Karabakh to the entrance of Lachin Corridor on August 30.

Harutyunyan told the French officials that Artsakh will never forget friends who provided support.

“Last year, in December, I visited France and held meetings with our friends, and back then I warned about everything that’s happening today. Unfortunately, my predictions were right. Azerbaijan expects to bring the Artsakhis, Artsakh down to their knees through humanitarian pressure, but they won’t succeed. We know how to respect, but we don’t know how to kneel. We will fight for as long as we can. Although we don’t have any expectations from the world, the major powers, international organizations, but we will continue. The dignity we inherited throughout millennia is far more important to us,” Harutyunyan said in his speech.

He thanked all participants of the French initiative of sending humanitarian aid, stressing that Artsakh will never forget it.

 16:37, 30 August 2023

YEREVAN, AUGUST 30, ARMENPRESS. Officials from a number of regions of France have arrived in Armenia to express support and friendship to the people of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo said at a press conference in Goris.

The French delegation that escorted a humanitarian convoy for Nagorno-Karabakh to the Lachin Corridor on Wednesday includes representatives of various political parties who are all united by Armenia and Artsakh.

“We are here today because the Armenian organizations in France told us it was time to act, time to address the people of France. And there was especially a need to bring together the French local authorities in order to be able to send humanitarian aid to Artsakh. It was possible to collect ten cargo trucks of humanitarian aid thanks to the unity of local self-governing bodies, and the aid consists of food, baby food, milk powder, generators and solar panels. This will allow Artsakh to withstand,” the Mayor of Paris said.

She said that the aid is intended for six cities in Artsakh that have been under blockade since December 2022.

“Our message is clear and simple. First of all we are calling for respect of international law. The Armenians in Artsakh are under blockade involuntarily and this blockade is being perpetrated in violation of international law and the 9 November 2020 trilateral statement. What’s happening today in Artsakh is similar to genocide. The former prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has described what’s happening in Artsakh as genocide, and four of the principles defining genocide have been acknowledged by the international community and experts. The advisor to the UN Secretary General responsible for genocide prevention is also using the same word to describe the situation in Artsakh. Genocide, ethnic cleansing by an authoritarian regime against a people that is simply asking for its rights to be respected, rights that any person or nation has. This is why we’ve come here to witness it and condemn it. And we are also asking the French President to use his position at the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution with the purpose of respecting the rights of the people of Artsakh,” Anne Hidalgo said.