Toivo Klaar`s statements on situation in Berdzor corridor raise  serious questions

ArmInfo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh has made the following comment on a recent statement by Mr Toivo Klaar, the EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia:

"We took note of the tweet made on 9 March 2023 by Toivo Klaar, the  EU Special Representative for the South Caucasus and the Crisis in  Georgia.

"However, his statements regarding the situation related to the  blocking of the Lachin Corridor, made earlier on 8 March in an  interview with Azerbaijani media, raise serious questions regarding  their compliance with the status of a neutral mediator, to which the  EU Special Representative claims.

"Speaking about the alleged legitimacy of Azerbaijan's approaches to  the Lachin Corridor, the EU Special Representative clearly ignores  the general context of the events taking place. And the context is  that Azerbaijan has been illegally blocking the Lachin Corridor for  almost three months, in violation of not only their obligations under  the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020, but also fundamental  rights of the people of Artsakh. Under the pretext of the need for  control over the Lachin Corridor, on 5 March, the Azerbaijani armed  forces resorted to a terrorist attack, killing three Artsakh police  officers and seriously wounding another.

"It should be emphasized that all of Azerbaijan's arguments regarding  the blocking of the Lachin Corridor, including the claim that the  corridor was allegedly used for military purposes, after a thorough  consideration have been rejected by the UN International Court of  Justice, which ordered Azerbaijan to ensure unimpeded movement of  persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both  directions.  We recall that the decisions of the International Court  of Justice are legally binding, which was also confirmed by senior  representatives of the EU.

"Such statements supporting the illegal claims of Azerbaijan are  perceived by the authorities of this country as an indulgence of  their criminal policy of ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, which is based  on the denial of the Artsakh people's inalienable rights to life,  self-determination, freedom and peaceful development.  Azerbaijan is  seeking to create conditions where nothing would prevent Baku from  establishing control over the entire territory of Artsakh by force  and completing their criminal plans to ethnically cleanse Artsakh.

"If the EU Special Representative is indeed concerned about actions  that escalate tensions in the region, then we strongly recommend  paying attention to Azerbaijan's continued military provocations,  aggressive and belligerent rhetoric, as well as deployment of new  military bases and other military infrastructure in the occupied  territories of Artsakh." In his earlier interview with an Azerbaijani  media outlet, Mr Klaar made the following statement: 

"I think the idea that there should be transparency about what is  being transported on the Lachin road is absolutely legitimate.  Because we do not want the Lachin road to be used for any shipment of  goods that would exacerbate tensions or be used for any military or  sort of illicit purposes

"Transparency is absolutely legitimate. The manner in which this  transparency is achieved is, I think, something that is subject to  discussions and negotiations. I think there are several ways of doing  that. And I believe some of these have been discussed in the past  like, for instance, Russians having some additional equipment on the  checkpoint to be able to better inspect what is going in and what is  going out. Again, I think there are several ways of doing it, I think  it is important that this is discussed in detail. I think the view in  Armenia is true that these [i.e., Lachin and Zangezur] are two  separate issues. One is the Lachin road, which is covered in one  point of the November 2020 Statement, and then there is the  connection between Azerbaijan and Nakhchivan which is covered in  another point of the 2020 Statement. So, from that point of view,  these are treated in different areas of that statement. But, in the  end, it is a question of discussion, of negotiation. Our view of  course is that, indeed, it is legitimate to have transparency, I  think it is also important to have, for the people, for the Armenian  inhabitants of Karabakh, a sense of security for them to be able to  move back and forth."