Armenian Foreign Ministry criticizes UN, demanding objective  assessment of situation in Artsakh amid Azeri aggression

ArmInfo. Armenia received with deep concern and disappointment the information about the visit  of the delegation led by the UN Resident Coordinator in Azerbaijan to Nagorno-Karabakh, and the press release published on its "results". This is stated in the commentary of the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the visit of the UN mission to Artsakh.

The Armenian Foreign Ministry recalled that the Minister of Foreign  Affairs of the Republic of Armenia on October 2, at a meeting with  the heads of diplomatic missions accredited in the Republic of  Armenia and representatives of international institutions held at the  Ministry of Foreign Affairs, already spoke on this matter.

"First of all, it should be noted that the visit of the delegation of  the UN Resident Coordinator to Azerbaijan cannot be considered an  interdepartmental fact-finding mission and has nothing to do with the  expectations of the Armenian side and the international community.  Moreover, the visit of the delegation took place only after  Nagorno-Karabakh was completely deprived of its native Armenian  population as a result of ethnic cleansing. As an objective  assessment, the UN delegation could only state the fact of  de-Armenization of Nagorno-Karabakh, having witnessed how the people  left their native settlements, the graves of their relatives and  centuries-old cultural and religious heritage," the RA Foreign  Ministry emphasized.

In this vein, official Yerevan recalled that since the blocking of  the Kashatagh (Lachin) corridor, the Armenian side has been  interacting for several months with the UN Office for the  Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and other units of the UN  Secretariat, calling for the dispatch of an interdepartmental  fact-finding mission of the Organization to Nagorno-Karabakh to  assess the humanitarian and human rights situation resulting from the  blockade of Artsakh, as well as to respond to the humanitarian needs  of its population.

"This issue was repeatedly raised during meetings with the UN  Secretary General.  Many international human rights organizations,  independent lawyers, and genocide researchers have expressed concern  about the ontological dangers faced by the people of  Nagorno-Karabakh, pointing to the risks of criminal offenses. The  only humanitarian organization present in Nagorno-Karabakh, the  International Committee of the Red Cross, expressed concern in its  message that it could not provide humanitarian assistance to the  civilian population through the Lachin corridor. All these reports  and assessments, which also showed a clear disregard for the UN's  declared commitments to "leave no one behind," showed the seriousness  of the situation, which, in fact, was ignored by the World  Organization," the Armenian Foreign Ministry emphasized.

At the same time, official Yerevan called the UN report compiled  following the mission's visit biased. "The press release following  the visit is extremely biased and does not reflect the situation on  the ground. It does not contain any mention of the numerous  casualties and injuries caused by Azerbaijan's large-scale attack,  attacks on civilian infrastructure, the blockade of the Lachin  corridor for over 9 months and the resulting humanitarian crisis,  abduction of citizens by Azerbaijani special services from an illegal  checkpoint near the Hakari Bridge and other facts known to  international partners.

The visit of the UN Resident Coordinator delegation to Azerbaijan was  used by Baku to promote its propaganda ideas and legitimize the  large-scale attack on Nagorno-Karabakh and its consequences.   "Armenia expects from the UN a clear response to ethnic cleansing in  Nagorno-Karabakh, gross violations of the fundamental human rights of  the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and international humanitarian law, in  accordance with the fundamental principles of international law and  the UN Charter," the Armenian Foreign Ministry summed up.