On January 5, the first session of the Armenian government of 2023 was held, chaired by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Press Office of the Armenian Prime Minister reported.

Before discussing the agenda, the Prime Minister referred to Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the regional situation. 

"Illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan continues for 25 days. This operation, which caused a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, caused a wide international response to calls to unblock the corridor. Despite this, Azerbaijan is not taking action to settle the issue. By closing the Lachin Corridor, Azerbaijan is grossly violating its direct commitment to the Tripartite Statement of November 9, 2020, which raises serious questions about the contractual capacity of official Baku. At the same time, Azerbaijan is trying to attribute to Armenia a practice of not fulfilling its obligations, which is completely fictitious," the Prime Minister stated.

Nikol Pashinyan emphasized, "It is also important to record that various reasons are given regarding the closure of the Lachin Corridor, but, in my opinion, the most profound and real reason is that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh continue to live in their homeland, and the international community has begun to record Nagorno-Karabakh more and more clearly. Azerbaijan's visible policy of subjecting Armenians to ethnic cleansing and genocide. In this sense, we expect more objective steps from the international community, including the permanent member of the UN Security Council, the Russian Federation, whose peacekeeping troops are stationed in Nagorno-Karabakh, and keeping the Lachin Corridor under its own control is its direct commitment to the tripartite agreement of November 9, 2020."

He added: "On December 30, 2022, by my decision, a working group headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan was established to support the people of Nagorno Karabakh in managing the humanitarian crisis established in Nagorno Karabakh. The group has already held several meetings and is making decisions of a humanitarian nature arising from the situation and will continue operations as necessary."

"I should also emphasize that the continuous blockade of the Lachin Corridor makes sending an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor even more necessary, and it is necessary to make continuous efforts in this direction," he concluded.

As previously reported by Caucasus Watch, at the meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Pashinyan said that the Lachin Corridor is not under the control of Russian peacekeepers.

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