France demands restoration of free movement along Lachin corridor

ArmInfo.France deplores Azerbaijan's ongoing blockade of the Lachin corridor, which  contravenes the commitments it undertook in the ceasefire agreement  and jeopardizes the negotiating process. This is stated in the  statement of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs of France.

"We express our full support for the July 26th statement by the EU  High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy  concerning the humanitarian situation affecting the population of  Nagorno-Karabakh.

France calls on Azerbaijan to comply with its international  commitments and to implement the provisional measures indicated by  the International Court of Justice in its February 22nd order, which  are binding.

We demand the restoration of free movement for people, goods and  cargo throughout the Lachin corridor, in both directions, and the  continuous supply of gas and electricity to the population.

Alongside the EU, France remains fully committed to promoting a just  and lasting peace in the region, a message that was expressed by the  Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs during her visit to Armenia  and Azerbaijan at the end of April," the statement reads.  Since  December 12, 2022, Artsakh is under blockade due to the closure of  the Stepanakert-Goris-Berdzor (Lachin) interstate highway by  Azerbaijan- the only road connecting Artsakh with Armenia, as a  result of which the rights of 120 thousand inhabitants of the  country, including 30 thousand children, were violated.  Despite the  fact that on February 22 the International Court of Justice granted  Armenia's demand and ordered Azerbaijan not to impede the free  movement of goods, people and vehicles through the Lachin corridor in  both directions, Baku has not yet complied with this legally binding  decision.Moreower, on April 23, Azerbaijan established a checkpoint  in the Lachin corridor in the zone of responsibility of the Russian  peacekeeping contingent. And after the June 15 incident, the  Azerbaijani side completely blocked the Lachin corridor, as a result  of which even humanitarian aid, including food and medicine, is not  delivered to Nagorno-Karabakh.

On July 26, Armenia sent a humanitarian convoy to Nagorno-Karabakh  (361 tons - flour, pasta, granulated sugar, vegetable oil, milk  powder, salt, baby food and medicines on 19 trucks), which has been  waiting for a response from Russian peacekeepers in the border zone  near Kornidzor since yesterday. "We've asked the Russian peacekeepers  deployed in Nagorno-Karabakh to accept the cargo and transport it to  Nagorno- Karabakh, which is in a humanitarian crisis due to the  illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor for about 8 months.  Azerbaijan prevents the entry of a humanitarian convoy. This behavior  is incomprehensible and unacceptable ," Prime Minister Nikol  Pashinyan said today. According to him, the ccess of the humanitarian  cargo into Nagorno Karabakh would contribute to the peace efforts in  the region and would be