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Armenpress.am EU has called on Azerbaijan to take measures to ensure freedom, security of movement in Lachin corridor - Borrell SaveShare 13:47, 31 January 2023 YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Since the beginning of December 2022, the EU has been closely following the developments along and around the Lachin Corridor and their humanitarian implications. High Representative/Vice-President Borrell is in regular contact with the Foreign Ministers of both sides. EU Special Representative Klaar also remains in close contact with both sides, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell said in response to an inquiry from Member of the European Parliament Assita Kanko. “Since the beginning of December 2022, the EU has been closely following the developments along and around the Lachin Corridor and their humanitarian implications. High Representative/Vice-President Borrell is in regular contact with the Foreign Ministers of both sides. EU Special Representative Klaar also remains in close contact with both sides. The EU has called on Azerbaijan to take the measures that are within its jurisdiction to ensure freedom and security of movement along the corridor, in line with its obligations deriving from the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020. In accordance with the agreement reached in Prague on 6 October 2022, the EU Monitoring Capacity was deployed to Armenia for a maximum of two months and completed its activities on 19 December 2022. The EU has started a new phase of engagement with the decision to establish, in response to Armenia’s request, a civilian European Union mission in Armenia (EUMA) under the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). The objective of the mission is to contribute to stability in the border areas of Armenia, build confidence on the ground, and ensure an environment conducive to normalisation efforts between Armenia and Azerbaijan supported by the EU. Sanctions are only one of the EU’s tools to promote the objectives of the Common Foreign and Security Policy and are not being considered in this case. The EU’s efforts with Armenia and Azerbaijan are focused on achieving solutions through dialogue, to which the leaders of both countries have expressed their commitment,” Borrell said. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102961.html?fbclid=IwAR3Xmb2Lc0K34fCZts5DhZNBV2eXTyGzzShYlCr1yxE6P9nv_da0X_wi-Oc

Armenpress.am UN Special Rapporteurs send letter to Baku on atrocities committed by Azerbaijan during aggression against Armenia SaveShare 13:05, 31 January 2023 YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. On January 27, 2023 the UN Human Rights Council Special Rapporteurs published the letter they addressed to the Government of Azerbaijan which has remained unanswered. Azerbaijan was addressed by the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences and Working Group on discrimination against women and girls, pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 44/5, 43/20, 51/21, 50/7 and 50/18. The abovementioned letter concerns the unlawful killings of Armenian Prisoners of War and civilians, as well as torture and ill-treatment of Armenian Prisoners of War, by Azerbaijani armed forces and the desecration of bodies of dead Armenian soldiers, including women, during Azerbaijan’s aggression against Armenia unleashed on 13 September, 2022. The Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions; Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls published the letter because Azerbaijan failed to respond to their query within the defined period of time (60 days). The Special Rapporteurs noted that what had happened could amount to various war crimes in contravention of the Geneva Conventions of 1949, of which Azerbaijan is a party. “The killing of POWs or detained civilians captured during or in the context of combat, is strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law, and if confirmed, may constitute war crimes. Similarly, conduct that endangers protected persons or objects or violates important values, such as by the disrespectful handling of human remains corpses, may also constitute war crimes. Azerbaijan has the duty to treat any Armenian detainees humanely and without discrimination in full compliance with its obligations under international humanitarian law.” Azerbaijan is also violating the protection against discrimination and violence against women contained in article 2 of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, ratified by Azerbaijan on 10 July 1995; and the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health contained in article 12 and 2.2 of the 4 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Azerbaijan also acceded to on 13 August 1992. Thus, being a party to the UN fundamental documents, Azerbaijan is grossly violating them and doesn’t cooperate with the highly important bodies supervising the human rights such as the mandated UN special rapporteurs. Furthermore, Azerbaijan doesn’t take into consideration the tasks given by the UN bodies. The UN special rapporteurs who signed the letter are expressing deep concern around the presented cases and are calling on Azerbaijan to take all possible measures to end such violations, prevent their repetition and ensure that all those responsible for the crimes are held to account. The UN Human Rights Council special rapporteurs also noted that they haven’t received a response from Azerbaijan on the factual and legal reasons for not releasing prisoners of war after the ceasefire in November of 2020. Azerbaijan also hasn’t responded as to what actions it is taking for the families of the forcibly displaced receive information about their fate. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102956.html?fbclid=IwAR0q8judz3I3-UnowJIKA_x46Gh3OQ7usk1kmT5FjjLUM8Sh5-o_g9dfTOA

Armenpress.am Azerbaijan tried to rewrite history of Nagorno Karabakh and is exacerbating a humanitarian crisis-Azerbaijani journalist SaveShare 12:48, 31 January 2023 YEREVAN, JANUARY 31, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijani journalist Bashir Kitachayev wrote an article for openDemocracy on Azerbaijan’s blockade of Lachin Corridor and the resulting humanitarian crisis, the anti-Armenian atmosphere generated in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijan’s efforts to falsify history of Nagorno Karabakh. “The blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijani protesters claiming to be environmental activists has entered its second month, sparking a humanitarian crisis in the disputed territory and condemnation from the international community. The Lachin corridor, the only road that links Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh (or simply Karabakh), an ethnically Armenian region of about 120,000 people within the Karabakh mountain range in Azerbaijan, has been blocked since mid-December. Last week, the European Parliament called on the Azerbaijani government in Baku to lift the roadblock, but so far there has been no sign of any change. The protesters claim illegal mining is taking place on territory controlled by the self-proclaimed Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and demand that Azerbaijani specialists are allowed to monitor any mining operations. They have a well-equipped tent camp and are allowing only Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross to travel on the Lachin corridor. Civil servants, disguised military personnel and members of pro-government NGOs and youth organisations are reported to be among the so-called ‘eco-activists’, none of whom appear to have taken part in previous environmental protests in Azerbaijan. Journalists from state publications are also there to cover the roadblock. The interruption of food and medical supplies to Karabakh has caused a humanitarian crisis. Supplies of fruits and vegetables are dwindling, stocks of baby formula have reportedly run out, and the area’s de facto authorities have issued food coupons and are rationing certain staples, such as oil, pasta, rice, sugar and buckwheat. Karabakh has also suffered interruptions in its electricity and gas supply, which passes through territory controlled by Azerbaijan. Russian peacekeepers have been criticised by the international community for their passivity over the blockade, with a European Parliament resolution on 19 January demanding action. Peacekeepers have been stationed in the region since the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War in 2020 and are meant to guarantee access to the road. The EU resolution also condemned Azerbaijan. The day before it was adopted by the bloc’s Parliament, Estonian MEP Marina Kaljurand urged Azerbaijan to refrain from using “high-level inflammatory rhetoric” to discriminate against Armenians. Kaljurand was referring to a recent ultimatum by Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev, who suggested Karabakh Armenians should either get an Azerbaijani passport or leave. In a television interview on 10 January, Aliyev said: “Conditions will be created for those who want to live [in Nagorno-Karabakh] under the flag of Azerbaijan. Like the citizens of Azerbaijan, their rights and security will be ensured. “For whoever does not want to become our citizen, the road is not closed, but open. They can leave. They can go on their own, or they can ride with [Russian] peacekeepers, or they can go by bus. The road [to Armenia] is open.” Aliyev’s statement seemingly admits that Azerbaijan controls the blockade and that at least one of its goals is to take command of Karabakh, despite the country’s authorities having denied being involved in the action, which they say is a “civil society protest,” the author said in the article. As to why the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh prefer to remain citizens of a small unrecognized state surrounded by a hostile army, the author said, “Any Karabakh Armenians who took Azerbaijani citizenship would face rampant anti-Armenian sentiment, or Armenophobia, fuelled by the state.” “…Azerbaijan has also tried to rewrite the history of Nagorno-Karabakh, presenting Armenians, who have lived in the region since the sixth century BC, as newcomers,” Bashir Kitachayev noted. He says that “Armenians are always mentioned negatively in the Azerbaijani media and are presented as vile historical enemies”. “Azerbaijan also denies the presence of any Armenian cultural heritage in the territory. Armenian Churches and other religious and cultural objects have been declared by the authorities to belong to ‘Caucasian Albania’, which existed in ancient times in what is now modern Azerbaijan. Historical Armenian monuments are also periodically destroyed. The large Armenian cemetery of Julfa, on the border between modern-day Azerbaijan and Iran, was obliterated in 2005. Hundreds of khachkars (tombstones) dating from the ninth to the 17th centuries were dug up and thrown in the river. Baku’s assurances of security guarantees are also hard to believe, given Azerbaijan did not investigate the brutal killings of Armenian civilians and captured soldiers during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War and subsequent clashes. And in 2012, Azerbaijani army officer Ramil Safarov was given a hero’s welcome when he returned home after beheading Armenian soldier Gurgen Margaryan with an axe at a NATO training seminar in Hungary eight years earlier. Safarov, who said he killed Margaryan out of ethnic hatred, was handed a life sentence in Budapest but extradited to Azerbaijan, where he was promptly released and pardoned,” the author further noted. “…But the country must take real steps towards democracy and reject a national-patriotic identity based on hatred of Armenians. Azerbaijan is exacerbating a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, when it could be creating conditions for peace between the two countries,” wrote Bashir Kitachayev. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102952.html?fbclid=IwAR2yK0zRCntQgv--qnzbleQF4pJSk1TVeVCvuR-vGYhOL3IOGp-lghQOOYc

If the rest of the world has any moral fiber, would follow the example of Netherlands!

Armenpress.am Argentina notes need to ensure freedom of movement through Lachin corridor SaveShare 10:31, 27 January 2023 YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Argentina Santiago Cafiero expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in the Lachin Corridor and noted the need to ensure freedom of movement through the corridor, the foreign ministry of Argentina said on social media. “Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero received Aram Mouratian, Regional Director of the Armenian National Council of South America. They reviewed the activities of the Council and the minister highlighted the important contribution of the Armenian community in Argentina. Argentina expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in the Lachin Corridor and noted the need to ensure freedom of movement through the corridor. This action aims to ensure the human rights of the populations involved. He also reiterated the principles that guide Argentine action regarding the defense of human rights and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Present at the meeting were Claudio Rozencwaig, Undersecretary for Foreign Policy; and Florencia Zanikian, a member of the Armenian National Council,” the Argentine foreign ministry tweeted. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102684.html?fbclid=IwAR3hCDkr5MOYkVzY7Bcb3cCxTmoI17pbMjALMiU0XcnuNBvsiZhtYVuZY1w

Armenpress.am Azerbaijan not agreeing to int’l fact-finding mission means they actually have genocidal intent – PACE delegate SaveShare 10:23, 27 January 2023 YEREVAN, JANUARY 27, ARMENPRESS. There is a clear understanding in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that the Lachin corridor is blockaded by Azerbaijan and that it must be opened immediately, the Vice Speaker of Parliament of Armenia and the head of the Armenian delegation to PACE Ruben Rubinyan said in a statement on social media. “As a result of the debates the PACE Bureau will discuss the possibility of preparing a report on the topic. Together with our colleagues we will continue to advance the idea of sending a fact-finding group to Lachin corridor,” Rubinyan said in the statement after delivering a speech at the PACE debates on the Lachin corridor blockade. Below is the transcript of Rubinyan’s speech at the PACE debates. “Thank you, Mister President. First I want to thank all of the speakers who spoke before me for speaking the truth. That's very important. The people in Nagorno-Karabakh may be freezing right now because of the blockade, but your words will certainly warm their hearts, because they will know they are not alone, even though Azerbaijan wants them to think they are alone and that nobody cares. But you show that people do care. Dear colleagues, I know conflicts tend to be complicated, but sometimes they are quite simple. We have a situation when Azerbaijan, the president of Azerbaijan, on 9 November 2020 has signed under a paper which says the Lachin corridor should be under the control of peacekeepers and the Republic of Azerbaijan guarantees the flow of cargo, people, vehicles from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh and the other way around through the Lachin Corridor. Now we don't have this situation. This is already the 46th day when this road is blocked, and furthermore there is no gas and there's no electricity because Azerbaijan has cut them off. Of course, as some of the speakers mentioned, Azerbaijan will deny this and our Azerbaijani colleagues will start to bring arguments saying that first there is no blockade and second, they will start justifying the blockade –which according to them is not there– by the so-called eco-activists. And there is only one way to check this, dear friends. Let's suppose that there's some evil Armenian conspiracy, a worldwide conspiracy, which has somehow managed to lie to everyone and to convince the Americans, the Russians, the French, the Iranians, the UK, the OSCE, the Council of Europe, the ECHR that there is a blockade which actually doesn't exist. Okay, this means that Azerbaijan must agree that, in this case, this organisation PACE should send a fact-finding mission to the Lachin corridor immediately, because that would be the only way for our Azerbaijani colleagues to prove that we are making false accusations. And when I say "we are making" I mean me and my Armenian colleagues and all the other colleagues which are not Armenian and who spoke today. If our Azerbaijan colleagues do not agree to this, this means that they do actually have genocidal intent, their intention is to rid Nagorno-Karabakh of its Armenian population. And this means that this organisation should act accordingly and should take measures to prevent this. Thank you.” https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102681.html?fbclid=IwAR2qwUeb4ShW9gjlugFf5oFyUGS50sm8UzGx7k1-bzlP6rgMatF2HB2-5kQ

Armenpress.am Creation of humanitarian crisis by Azerbaijan for Artsakh’s people is a genocidal act. Representative of Cyprus SaveShare 23:53, 26 January 2023 YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. At the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Cypriot delegate Constantinos Efstathiou assessed the closing of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan and the creation of a humanitarian crisis for the people of Artsakh a genocidal act, calling for an immediate end to the blockade of the corridor. ARMENPRESS reports, in his speech at the PACE, the representative of Cyprus spoke about the serious humanitarian crisis caused by the blocking of the Lachin Corridor. "Access and supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh must be unconditionally restored, and Azerbaijan must respect the tripartite agreement and guarantee the safety of people and the transportation of goods through the Lachin Corridor. The blockade has left thousands of people, including children, unable to return to their homes. This alarming situation threatens the fragile peace process and may lead to the resumption of violence," he said. The representative of Cyprus noted that this will have a disastrous effect not only on Armenians and Azerbaijanis, but also on the South Caucasus region. "As a member of the Council of Europe, we call on the authorities of Azerbaijan to open the Lachin Corridor, to refrain from tension-causing actions," he said. He emphasized that starving people, leaving them without electricity and medicine is a genocidal act. One of the elements of genocide is the creation of harsh living conditions aimed at the physical annihilation of a group of people. "It is a crucial moment of genocide, let's not sacrifice people due to political conditions or national interests. Every person in this world deserves to live in dignity and with full respect for their rights. The message should be clear: stop the blockade of Lachin Corridor," the Cypriot delegate concluded. Since December 12, Azerbaijan continues to keep closed the only highway connecting Artsakh to the world, the Lachin Corridor, citing false environmental reasons. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102672.html?fbclid=IwAR1ehy_hLApw_1mUeTrDZIhEUuSa0JgT7fQyZsxHy6-I0F8VDBk_P8Tt9bM

Armenpress.am Protesters blocking the Lachin Corridor only contribute to the worsening of the crisis. Representative of Great Britain SaveShare 23:36, 26 January 2023 YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Protesters blocking the Lachin Corridor are only contributing to the worsening of the crisis, regardless of their motives, ARMENPRESS reports, during the PACE discussion on the humanitarian consequences of blocking the Lachin Corridor, the representative of Great Britain Jill Mortimer said, stressing that the wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the past 30 years have not led to a lasting solution and positive relations between the two countries. "Even the prisoners of war have not been returned. If these countries want to live in peace with each other as good neighbors, they must find a way to talk to each other honestly and in good faith. I call on the governments of Azerbaijan and Armenia to join the efforts of the OSCE to ensure peace and stability. Now we see a slow march towards a humanitarian catastrophe. We have to prevent this," said Jill Mortimer, emphasizing the importance of restoring safe movement through the Lachin Corridor. "Regardless of their motives, the protesters blocking the Lachin Corridor are only contributing to the worsening of the crisis. I call on all parties to the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020 to reaffirm that the Republic of Azerbaijan must guarantee the safe passage of people, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. This is the solution," stressed the politician. The British representative also stressed that any step that could lead the region to further chaos and conflict should be stopped. "I call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to save their peoples from future disaster. I am sure that both sides have made right and wrong moves and suffered from them, but the only way to protect innocent people from the terrible and inevitable damage of the conflict is reconciliation and the will to move forward... The first step to that is the reopening of the Lachin Corridor," said the British politician. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102671.html?fbclid=IwAR1NZ8hG6kNk9LP8KlwDAlifx_mkj-AUkFAn5B3jADh8nMFmPCvXCMu2pG4

Armenpress.am US congressmen call on Biden to stop military support to Azerbaijan SaveShare 20:44, 26 January 2023 YEREVAN, JANUARY 26, ARMENPRESS. Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), along with Armenian Caucus leaders David Valadao (R-CA), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Brad Sherman (D-CA), are spearheading a resolution condemning Azerbaijan's blockade of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) and ongoing human rights violations, calling on President Biden to immediately suspend U.S. military and security assistance to Azerbaijan and to fully enforce Section 907 of the FREEDOM Support Act, and provide U.S. humanitarian and development assistance to the Armenian victims in Nagorno-Karabakh, ARMENPRESS was infomred from the Armenian Assembly of America (Assembly). The bipartisan resolution, which begins circulating today for original co-sponsors, states that "Azerbaijani forces [are] in violation of international obligations to resolve disputes with Armenia and Artsakh peacefully," following their large-scale, unprovoked invasion of Artsakh in 2020. The resolution states that "President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan has used vitriolic rhetoric to call for the ethnic cleansing of indigenous Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and his regime has consistently violated important international humanitarian legal agreements during the 2020 war and up until the present date, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the United Nations Charter, and the Geneva Convention." Evidence of Azerbaijan's violations of international humanitarian law during the 2020 war - including rocket strikes on civilian infrastructure such as hospitals and schools, the decapitation of civilians, the use of white phosphorus munitions, and the torture and killings of Armenian prisoners of war - are well-documented by reputable non-governmental organizations such as Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The resolution emphasizes that the November 2020 ceasefire statement that ended the 2020 war signed by Azerbaijan "clearly states in Article 6 that, 'The Lachin Corridor (5 km wide), which will provide a connection between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia while not passing through the territory of Shushi, shall remain under the control of the Russian Federation peacemaking forces…The Republic of Azerbaijan shall guarantee the security of persons, vehicles and cargo moving along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.'" Despite the Article, on December 12, 2022, "Azerbaijan created a man-made humanitarian crisis by implementing an extended blockade of the Lachin Corridor under the guise of a civilian protest" which has resulted in "dangerous, escalatory steps." The closure of the Lachin Corridor - which serves as a vital lifeline connecting the Republic of Artsakh to the Republic of Armenia - and its blockade prevents food, critical medical supplies, and other essentials from reaching 120,000 people, and has "severely worsened the quality of life for the people living in Artsakh, including 30,000 children, 20,000 elderly individuals, and 9,000 people with disabilities, including the sabotage of civilian infrastructures such as a critical natural gas pipeline, power transmission lines, and fixed-line internet." The U.S. Department of State has time and again warned that the "closure of the Lachin Corridor has severe humanitarian implications and sets back the peace process," and publicly called "on the government of Azerbaijan to restore free movement through the corridor." In addition to condemning the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, calling for the immediate suspension of U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan, and providing humanitarian aid, the resolution also encourages the U.S. and international community to petition the International Court of Justice, European Court of Human Rights, or other appropriate international tribunals, "to take appropriate steps to investigate any and all war crimes committed by the Azerbaijani forces," while also calling on the U.S. to deploy international observers to the Lachin Corridor and Artsakh "to explore opportunities for more effective and sustainable guarantees of security and peaceful development," as well as "support U.S. sanctions under existing statutory authority against Azerbaijani officials responsible for the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and other well-documented human rights violations committed against Armenians in the region." "The Assembly applauds the tireless efforts of the Armenian Caucus leadership to hold Azerbaijan accountable for its continuous human rights violations against the Armenian people of Artsakh, particularly as Azerbaijan's blockade, which has spurred yet another humanitarian crisis, is in its seventh week," said Assembly Congressional Relations Director Mariam Khaloyan. "We urge the U.S. and the international community to stop Azerbaijan's attempts at ethnically cleansing the Armenian people and destabilizing the South Caucasus region for its own gain." https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102661.html?fbclid=IwAR3JZFNfKGhbZwGJG5-8YqHz3pR-4xJ4XgsQyunMZfza5NvPgjNTirzpJ3Q

Oil and gas wins over human suffering! Nothing new here it's been like this forever!

Armenpress.am 'Impossible to breath' - Azeris near Baku poisoned with waste oil but Aliyev’s 'eco-activists' are busy with fake agenda SaveShare 13:03, 25 January 2023 YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. Thousands of Azerbaijanis living in the municipality of Sabuncu in Baku are being poisoned with high levels of mazut and waste pollution, meanwhile the Azeri self-described “eco-activists” are busy with blocking the Lachin Corridor under fake environmental pretexts, having caused a humanitarian crisis for 120,000 people living in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh). The Azeri government-sponsored “eco-activists” are turning a blind eye on the real environmental problem in their capital city of Baku, and by doing so they are exposing their real goals in Lachin Corridor, i.e. to terrorize the peaceful population of Artsakh, while the residents in Sabuncu are already terrorized with Azeri leader Ilham Aliyev’s oil refinery waste. An Azeri journalist wrote an article titled “Life in Sabuncu is poisoned with mazut and waste” in Haqqin.az (the story was later deleted), noting that thousands of local residents have an impression that they are living in an oil production plant which has turned into a landfill. Moreover, a nearby 4-hectare pond of mazut is used by residents as a waste disposal site for household garbage. Local residents say that the horrible smell makes it impossible to breath in summers. Seemingly the situation had to be a bit easier in autumns and winters, but that is not the case. “Even a little rain causes a flood here. The channel of the pond is filled with garbage and waste. The same happens after snowfalls. In autumns and winters we can’t do anything about it and we simply close our homes and leave this place to live with our relatives,” one of the residents said. The journalist described the situation in the settlement, “We saw several children playing near the polluted mazut lake. Upon seeing our confused and baffled looks, the locals gestured left and right and said that they are constantly facing danger. And it’s not just about oil, which can catch fire at any moment. The mud has made the track impassable.” The residents of Sabuncu have lost any hope of their government, which is feeding them with promises, solving the worsening situation and they aren’t even asking why the “eco-activists” blocking the Lachin Corridor aren’t demonstrating against the real problem which has been deteriorating for years. The article was published by the Azerbaijani haqqin.az but was deleted afterwards. Photos: Haqqin.az Below is a screenshot of the article. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102504.html?fbclid=IwAR2hyLl2SHsWLTgoag8B_QzgVoRkWXEuTzt81LPszStNjMvc2xGyfJ7wI1U

Armenpress.am U.S. calls for full restoration of free movement through Lachin corridor, including commercial and private travel SaveShare 10:11, 25 January 2023 YEREVAN, JANUARY 25, ARMENPRESS. The United States has “various concerns” in relation to the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations process and one of these concerns pertains to the Lachin Corridor, according to U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price. The United States is calling for the full restoration of free movement through the Lachin corridor, including commercial and private travel, Price said at a press briefing. Speaking at a press briefing, Price highlighted the importance of direct dialogue for solving issues. “Well, we don’t go into it with a conclusion. We go into it hoping to see direct dialogue – direct dialogue leading to a resolution of the issues that have long divided Armenia and Azerbaijan – and through that dialogue, hopefully reaching a lasting peace. We’re continuing to engage in direct discussions with Armenia and Azerbaijan. We’re doing that bilaterally; we’re doing that with partners; we’re doing that through multilateral institutions. We’ve had an occasion to do that trilaterally a couple times last year as well. We are going to do what is most effective to bring about a resolution to these very thorny issues,” Ned Price said when asked what’s Secretary Blinken’s take on how he envisions the process moving forward and what his conclusion is. Addressing the blocking of the Lachin Corridor, the U.S. State Department spokesperson once again expressed concern about the worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno Karabakh. “We have a good sense of the state of play. We have various concerns. Let me just state, on the topic of those concerns, our concerns regarding the Lachin corridor. We are concerned that the situation there is worsening; the worsening humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh has been a focus of not only the Secretary but others in this building. Ongoing obstruction of normal commercial and private travel along the Lachin corridor is causing shortages of food, fuel, and medicine for the residents who depend on the corridor for those very basic supplies. Periodic disruptions to natural gas and other basic utilities exacerbate the worsening humanitarian situation. We call for the full restoration of free movement through the corridor, including commercial and private travel. We believe we need a solution to this impasse that will ensure the safety and well-being of the population living in the area, and we believe the way forward is, as I said before, through negotiations. We remain committed to supporting a lasting peace,” Price said when asked if the Secretary has a clear understanding of where the negotiation process is stalled at this point. The Lachin Corridor is blocked by Azerbaijan since December 12, 2022. https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1102487.html?fbclid=IwAR3XEoVwP_C4goSiX4hRVYmS-Ihvqj7Ctjgp-3G7Mr4KfMr76-NdXtXgFRc