ArmInfo. On 14 July Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov Bayramov met with head of the ICRC office in Azerbaijan Dragana Kozic. Issues of cooperation between Azerbaijan and the ICRC, the current situation in the Kashatagh corridor connecting Artsakh with the outside world, as well as the activities of the ICRC in Stepanakert were discussed at the meeting.
Bayramov cynically announced "the possibility of continuing the crossing of Armenian residents through the border point for medical purposes through the mediation of the ICRC with the observance of the necessary rules."
At the same time, he suggested that the supply of food to the besieged Artsakh be made from Azerbaijan, thereby ending the criminal attempt to seize the Nagorno Karabakh Republic, which declared its independence in accordance with the USSR Constitution in 1991, by force.
During the meeting, there was also an exchange of views on other issues of mutual interest. Earlier Azerbaijan accused the ICRC of allegedly transporting unauthorized goods to Artsakh, and under this pretext completely blocked the corridor, which had not been operating for more than six months. We add that the ICRC admitted that without the Organization's knowledge, four hired drivers, tried to transport some commercial goods (cigarettes, telephones, etc.), in their own vehicles which were temporarily displaying the ICRC emblem. These individuals were not ICRC staff members and their service contracts were immediately terminated by the ICRC. Thus, Azerbaijan is trying to strangle the people of Artsakh, which has been in a total blockade since December 12 of this year, deprived of gas, electricity and basic necessities. All this is happening against the backdrop of the inaction of the civilized international community, which, in pursuit of energy resources, forgot about the universal human rights promoted by itself.
We add that Stepanakert has already stated that Azerbaijan is trying to achieve the withdrawal of the ICRC office from Artsakh.