Thursday, September 21 2023 19:51

ArmInfo.There are false reports that Yerevan has banned or closed the entry of the residents  of Nagorno Karabakh who want to cross to Armenia. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said on the evening of September 21 during a Facebook live broadcast, speaking about the humanitarian situation in  Nagorno-Karabakh.

"Firstly, we all know that the Lachin corridor has been closed for 10  months, and during all this time, and at the present moment, the  Armenian roads leading to the Lachin corridor have not been closed  for a minute, and continue to remain open. Moreover, at the beginning  of the week, I gave an order to form a working group to receive  possible groups of refugees from Artsakh, to resolve issues of their  residence. We just didn't announce it," he said.

At the same time, according to him, different scenarios were  discussed: what could happen, what groups could come, etc. "We even  reserved hotel rooms and prepared tens of thousands of places to  stay," he said.  All this was done earlier this week because when the  process began, it was clear that this could happen, he added.

Pashinyan emphasized that in his previous speeches he constantly  accused Azerbaijan of trying to carry out ethnic cleansing in  Nagorno-Karabakh. <Now, when I analyze the situation, I get the  impression that there are forces that want to implement Azerbaijan's  plan for ethnic cleansing in such a way that Azerbaijan has nothing  to blame. So that it would say: look, Armenia, the society of  Armenia, the society of Nagorno- Karabakh themselves decided that not  a single Armenian should remain in Nagorno-Karabakh, and they left.  This is a very dangerous narrative. But, on the other hand, ensuring  the stay and life of our compatriots of Nagorno-Karabakh in a safe  place "is among our obligations," he said.

According to him, Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan reported  to him that preparatory work has been carried out in Armenia to  receive about 40 thousand families. <We did not want to talk about  this, because we believe that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh  should live in their homes, in their homeland, in decent, safe  conditions. At the moment, our assessment is that there is no direct  threat to the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh>, he  emphasized.

Pashinyan once again recalled the presence of the RPC in NK and the  fact that they take care about the safety of thecivilian population.  Yerevan is also ready to take all possible measures, but the Lachin  corridor remains closed and humanitarian cargo is still awaiting  passage to NK, he added.  In addition, Pashinyan noted, Yerevan has  information that yesterday more than 10 thousand residents of NK were  invited to the Stepanakert airport with the possibility that they  would be transported to the Republic of Armenia. "They were  photographed, and then they said that Armenia did not give permission  for their entry. And then these photographs were published. It is  obvious to me that this is being done with the aim of internal  political upheavals in the Republic of Armenia and creating chaos,"  the prime minister said.

On September 19, after Azerbaijan's attack on Nagorno-Karabakh,  Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, during a Facebook live  broadcast, "recorded attempts to involve Armenia in military  escalation." He called on the citizens of the Republic of Armenia to  treat the situation soberly, with a cool head, and to refrain from  any "uncalculated, abrupt, adventurous actions." On September 20,  after Stepanakert's statement about accepting the RPC's proposal for  a ceasefire, in particular, on the terms of the "withdrawal of the  remaining units and military personnel of the Armed Forces of the  Republic of Armenia" from Nagorno-Karabakh, Pashinyan noted that  "mentioning the name of Republic of Armenia in a text "which has  basically nothing to do with the Republic of Armenia " justifies his  hypothesis, voiced yesterday, that one of the goals of this  aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh was to involve Armenia in  military operations, which would ultimately jeopardize the  sovereignty and independence of the  RA. He also stated that from now  on, the obligation to fully and unconditionally protect the Armenians  of the NK, and ensure the rights of Armenians to live with dignity  and safety in their homes, on their land, becomes the obligation of  the RPC, and the RA authorities <in practical terms will monitor  developments".