David Babayan sent letters to  OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and PR of  OSCE CiO on threat to water security of Artsakh

ArmInfo. On May 7, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh David Babayan sent letters to the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and the Personal Representative of  the Chairperson-in-Office Andrzej Kasprzyk on the threat to water  security of Artsakh. The press service of Artsakh MFA reports.

According to the source: <The letters particularly state, that the  military aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan on September 27, 2020,  put the water security of the Republic of Artsakh in serious  jeopardy. After the signing of the Trilateral statement on secession  of hostilities on November 9, 2020, the Karvajar (Kelbajar)  area-which is the principal water source of Artsakh was ceded to  Azerbaijan. Currently approximately 98 per cent of the water used in  the Republic of Artsakh originates in Karvajar. The Arpa River and  Vorotan River-which provide water to Lake Sevan, where 80 percent of  Armenia's water resources are concentrated, and without which Lake  Sevan would face an ecological catastrophe - originate in Karvajar,  too.  

Hence today, more than at any other time in the history of Republic  of Artsakh, it is of paramount importance to ensure the water right  and security of the Republic. The ever-existing threat of ethnic  cleansing by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, along with the long- lasting  state policy of Armenophobia and massive hate campaign against the  ethnic Armenians, which is coordinated and supported by Azerbaijani  authorities, necessitates substantial security measures.  

The letters also call on the OSCE to establish an international  monitoring mechanism  in the area whence the key rivers noted  originate. Otherwise, the Artsakh people's basic right to water -  and, as such, their very existence - will be endangered, yet again.>