Official Stepanakert accuses EU leadership of ignoring legitimate  rights and interests of people of Artsakh

ArmInfo.The Artsakh Foreign Ministry issued a statement in connection with the statements of the  President of the European Council following the trilateral meeting in Brussels.  

According to the press service of the NKR MFA, the statement reads,  in particular:  "On 14 May, President of the European Council Charles  Michel made a press statement following a trilateral meeting with  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President  Ilham Aliyev. The content of the statement as a whole, as well as a  number of points contained there indicate that the EU leadership  continues to ignore the legitimate rights and interests of the people  of Artsakh and is guided solely by their own geopolitical and  short-term interests in the region to the detriment of the values of  democracy and human rights declared by the European Union.  

This is evidenced in particular by the absence in the statement of  any mention of more than 5-months blockade of the Lachin Corridor,  the establishment of an illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint at the  entrance to the corridor and the factual siege of the 120,000  population of Artsakh with all the ensuing humanitarian consequences.   This is an indication of the fact that the President of the European  Council not only does not prevent, but in fact indulges Azerbaijan in  using the suffering of the people of Artsakh as a political tool.   However, if the intentions and visible actions of Azerbaijan to  provoke a humanitarian catastrophe and carry out ethnic cleansing in  Artsakh are not a matter of concern for the President of the European  Council, we still had the right to expect that the organisation he  represents would show direct interest in Azerbaijan's strict  compliance with the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights  and the International Court of Justice, as one of the pillars of  contemporary international legal order. In this regard, the European  Council President's  defiant disregard for Azerbaijan's consistent  non- compliance with the legally binding Order of the principal  judicial organ of the UN and its systematic violations of  international law, in particular the non-use or threat of force and  the peaceful settlement of disputes, is puzzling.  It is only the  effective measures on the part of the international community aimed  at forcing Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally implement  its obligations under the Trilateral Statement of 9 November 2020 and  the Order of the International Court of Justice of 22 February 2023,  that may testify that those acting as mediators are sincerely  interested in lasting peace and stability in the region. We believe  that those international actors who either by their action or  inaction are encouraging Baku in their aggressive, expansionist  policies and internationally wrongful acts, not only bear  responsibility for their grave consequences, but also justify the  recurrence of such policies and violations in other parts of the  world.  

We recall once again that in 1991, the people of Artsakh, in full  compliance with international law and domestic legislation in force  at that time, exercised their inalienable right to self-determination  and established their statehood on the same basis as Azerbaijan and  Armenia. The authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have consistently  defended and will continue to defend the legitimate choice and  expression of the free will of their people.  Representatives of  individual countries and international organisations have no right to  decide the fate of the people of Artsakh. Moreover, any attempt to  impose on the people of Artsakh an agenda based on the legitimisation  of the illegal use of force and ongoing terror is tantamount to  complicity in the implementation of Azerbaijan's criminal plans of  ethnic cleansing of Artsakh and maintaining a permanent source of  tension in the region, as well as encouraging Baku's territorial  ambitions and aggressive policies.  In this connection, we reiterate  the determination of the people and authorities of the Republic of  Artsakh to continue the struggle for their inalienable rights in  accordance with the norms and principles of international law. We are  convinced that only the recognition of the right to  self-determination exercised by the people of Artsakh can become the  basis for a sustainable settlement of the conflict and the  establishment of just and lasting peace and stability in the region.  

We also recall that the authorities of the Republic of Artsakh have  always advocated a comprehensive settlement of the  Azerbaijan-Karabakh conflict through negotiations. The Republic of  Artsakh remains open to discussing all components of the conflict and  reasonable proposals aimed at a peaceful settlement, in an agreed and  internationally recognised negotiation format, based on the equal  rights of the parties and in the presence of strong international  guarantees for the implementation of their obligations."