Change in situation requires public mobilization - Andranik Tevanyan

ArmInfo.Artsakh is faced with a grave humanitarian crisis, Andranik Tevanyan, a member of the Armenia parliamentary faction, stated at the February 3 hearing of  the situation round the Lachin corridor. 

Azerbaijani authorities imposed a blockade of the Lachin corridor on  December 12, 2022. Meanwhile, the Armenian authorities' actions are  only surprising. "It is importance for them that the Lachin corridor  be part of the general information flow that has nothing in common  with Armenia," he said. He recalled the Armenia faction's attempt to  organize a special meeting of Armenia's Parliament that would approve  a statement condemning Azerbaijan's actions. 

The document contained support for the people of Artsakh and called  on the Russian peacekeepers, within their mandate, to take the  necessary steps to unblock the corridor, but the authorities did  everything possible so that this issue was not reflected in the text  of the document.

Tevanyan stressed that the faction is convinced that there are no  prerequisites for Artsakh to be part of Azerbaijan. Based on the  declaration of independence and the Constitution of the Republic of  Armenia, Yerevan assumed obligations to ensure the security of the  people of Nagorno-Karabakh. But the Armenian authorities do not agree  on this issue. Largely for this reason, a draft new statement of the  National Assembly has been developed, which will be submitted to the  National Assembly in the near future. "The Armenian authorities  consider Nagorno-Karabakh part of the territory of Azerbaijan,  whereas we do not.  Armenia's authorities the issue of  self-determination of Artsakh should not be on the agenda of Armenia,  we hold a different opinion. The Armenian authorities refuse to  fulfill their obligations to ensure the security of Artsakh, we have  a different opinion on this issue," Tevanyan said.

The oppositionist stressed that the current situation around Artsakh  and Armenia arose on May 9, 2018, after the Armenian premier's speech  in Stepanakert. And if we compare this statement with his today's  speeches, we can conclude that they are identical. On May 9, 2018,  Pashinyan stated that he was not negotiating over Artsakh, since he  did not have a corresponding mandate, and the Karabakh people should  conduct negotiations. Today, as Tevanyan noted, the same statement is  repeated. As a result, there was a war that brought defeat to the  Armenian people. "They have brought the matter to the point that  Armenia is not only "washing its hands" of Karabakh, but also doing  everything possible to ensure that the Lachin corridor remains  closed, because on October 6 in Prague during a quadripartite  meeting, which was attended by Pashinyan, Aliyev, Macron and Michel,  the head of the Armenian government agreed to consider  Nagorno-Karabakh as part of the territory of Azerbaijan. In this  context, if this territory is recognized as part of Azerbaijan, then  what kind of Lachin corridor are we talking about," Tevanyan said.  A  change in the situation requires public mobilization, he added.