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The Armenian Foreign Ministry on Friday issued a statement regarding the UN Security Council’s urgent meeting on Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). The full statement is provided below.

"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."