During the oral hearings in the case of Armenia vs. Azerbaijan at the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ), representatives of Azerbaijan tried to convince the Court that the Lachin Corridor is open and there is no need to apply urgent measures. As if Azerbaijan has done everything to ensure that the traffic of the Lachin Corridor is uninterrupted. The representative of Azerbaijan, Van Lo, announced: “There is no blockade, Azerbaijan does not organize protests, and the practical ability to control the Lachin Corridor is in the hands of others.
Therefore, in the RA complaint, the actual and fictitious justifications of this supposed blockade are mixed, up to allegations of genocide.” He tried to convince the protesters allegedly in the corridor of Lachin were environmentalists and said that they had the right to speak about the issues that concerned them. “What’s wrong there?” People are angry that their homeland is being exploited illegally. Azerbaijan is not the conductor of these demonstrations; there is no information that these are demonstrations organized by the state. Azerbaijan would not fulfill its domestic and international obligations if it repressed that peaceful demonstration. Protesters are not blocking anyone, let alone specific Armenians. The issue that concerns them is environmental issues. They are not concerned about identity, ethnicity.”
He mentioned that the peacekeepers are present there, they exercise their authority and control the road, and the citizens of Armenia are dissatisfied with that situation.
Then he said: “All parties to the tripartite agreement have recorded the reality of control by Russian peacekeepers. RA is well aware of this situation. The RA Parliament called on the Russian Federation two days after the demonstrations began to unblock the road.”
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Another representative of Azerbaijan insisted that the real urgency is not the basis of RA’s demand. There is no risk of severe consequences. He blamed Russia and said: “Russia is not participating in this proceeding; however, it has a key and central role in this dispute. The Lachin Corridor remains under the control of the Russian peacekeeping forces, and the fact that the Russian peacekeeping forces are the real ones in charge is not disputed.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
