Thursday, July 6 2023 11:57

ArmInfo. Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan on July 6, at a meeting of the country's Cabinet of  Ministers, once again stated that the allegations about the presence  of units of the Armenian Armed Forces in Nagorno-Karabakh are not  true.

Pashinyan pointed out that the humanitarian crisis that arose due to  Azerbaijan's illegal, prolonged blockade of the Lachin corridor - the  only road linking Armenia with Artsakh (since December 12, 2022 - ed.  note), is aggravating day by day. And after the provocation of  Azerbaijan at the Hakari Bridge on June 15, the supply of all types  of goods to Nagorno-Karabakh was stopped. Even the Russian  peacekeepers deployed in NK are deprived of this opportunity, the  prime minister noted, recalling that gas and electricity supplies to  Artsakh have been cut off for several months.

Against this background, Baku intensifies its military rhetoric, both  against Stepanakert and Yerevan.  <Unfounded accusations against  Armenia by Azerbaijan do not stop. In particular, Azerbaijan  continues to demand from Armenia the withdrawal of Armenian units, in  conditions when the RA has no soldiers in Nagorno-Karabakh. I state  once again: Armenia does not have an army in Nagorno-Karabakh. The  Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army operates in Nagorno-Karabakh, the  reasons for the existence of which everyone can find in the daily  official Azerbaijani propaganda and actions, the undisguised essence  of which is the genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Armenians of  Nagorno-Karabakh. In fact, today we are eyewitnesses of the creeping  implementation of this policy in Nagorno-Karabakh>, he said.  As  Pashinyan pointed out, Baku's policy of ethnic cleansing in  Nagorno-Karabakh is also manifested in the fact that it targets those  international organizations or countries that give an objective  assessment of the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh and the actions of  Azerbaijan.

<For several months, Azerbaijan has been conducting a large-scale  propaganda campaign against France, which, at the official and public  level, voices targeted assessments about Baku's illegal actions  against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh. Propaganda against France  and international organizations by Azerbaijan and other states is  aimed at preventing possible international targeted assessments>,  Pashinyan added.  According to him, Armenia, in turn, thanks France  and should take additional measures so that even more countries and  organizations join such targeted assessments.

At the same time, as the Armenian prime minister pointed out, Yerevan  will continue to respond to this situation at the diplomatic level,  "without losing self-control", so that even more countries come up  with objective assessments of what is happening.

Earlier, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev accused Armenia of having  its armed forces on the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh and demanded  their withdrawal. The Azerbaijani leader also accused France of  supporting "Armenian separatism" and "continuing the neo-colonial  policy."