Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan delivered the following speech today at a special meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna during which he called on the OSCE to increase pressure on Baku to halt further Azerbaijani aggression against Armenia and to reopen the Lachin Corridor.

Mirzoyan reiterated that a resolution of the Karabakh conflict would not be discussed in any Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization talks. He said that Yerevan has agreed to an Azerbaijani proposal to discuss the matter separately.

Today's meeting was requested by Armenia.

Mr. Chairperson,
Distinguished Ambassadors,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to start by congratulating you, Mr. Chairperson, and through you my dear colleague, Minister Bujar Osmani, on assuming by North Macedonia of the Chairmanship of the OSCE and wish you all the success in your challenging endeavor of leading this largest security organization in times of unprecedented set-backs and crises in our common security area.

We welcome the human-centric concept of security which will be the guiding approach of the North Macedonian Chairmanship under the motto “It’s about people”. One cannot say better since this organization has been established first and foremost to serve the interest of people and ensure their rights and security.

I assure you of Armenia’s support in all your efforts contributing to creating conditions for the people in the OSCE area to live in a more secure and safe environment.

I also would like to thank you, Mr. Chairperson, for convening this special PC meeting and giving me the opportunity to speak about the situation in our region and, particularly, the blockade of the Lachin Corridor.

Mr. Chairperson,

I wish I could have come here to the PC to talk about the achievements of Armenia in strengthening its democracy, human rights and the rule of law and the process of successfully implementing large-scale reforms from judiciary to police, from fighting corruption to improving social cohesion and justice. And believe me, I would have many things to say.

Unfortunately, the security crisis and challenges following the war of aggression by Azerbaijan against Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and the subsequent aggression and occupation by Azerbaijan of the sovereign territory of Armenia threaten the Armenian democracy undermining the efforts of the Armenian government towards bringing peace, stability and security to the South Caucasus region.

Since this is the first time that the Foreign Minister of Armenia addresses the Permanent Council following the 44-day war of aggression and occupation of Armenia’s territory I would like to briefly reflect on the impact that this large-scale unprecedented use of force for the settlement of conflict have had in terms of perception of the OSCE, its principles and commitments, and its concept of comprehensive and indivisible security.

The 44-day war of aggression was accompanied by war crimes and widespread violations of international humanitarian law, targeting of civilian population and infrastructure, destruction of cultural heritage, which were not properly investigated, and no one has been held accountable.

Throughout decades, the OSCE has been developing a set of tools, or the toolbox, aimed at early warning and conflict prevention. Unfortunately, it pains me to say this, but we must recognize that the OSCE failed to apply this toolkit effectively and in a timely manner.

Furthermore, the absence of proper and robust reaction resulted in the impunity for the use of force as means of conflict settlement, in violation of the OSCE principles, commitments enshrined in its basic documents, leading to the legitimation of violence in the interstate and intrastate relations.

Following the signing on the 9 November 2020 of a trilateral statement on the cessation of armed hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh Armenia spared no efforts to achieve a normalization of relations with Azerbaijan and address the rights and security of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. Unfortunately, the Azerbaijani side, instead of engaging in good faith into the negotiations, continues its destructive policy. Immediately after signing the Trilateral statement the Azerbaijani side violated the commitment on complete ceasefire and cessation of all military operations and launched an attack on Nagorno-Karabakh, which resulted in capturing of two more villages and the captivity of the Armenian servicemen. In May and November 2021 as well as in September last year the Azerbaijani side launched an aggression against the Republic of Armenia occupying around 150 sq km of the sovereign territories of Armenia. Today, with the blockade of the Lachin corridor the Azerbaijani side created a humanitarian crisis with far going intentions.

On 12 December 2022, a group of Azerbaijanis claiming to be environmental activists blocked the Lachin Corridor, the lifeline, the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia and the rest of the world, thus effectively isolating the 120,000 people in Nagorno-Karabakh, 30,000 of whom are children. Over 1,000 people, including 270 children, are unable to return home to Nagorno-Karabakh. Some of those children are separated from their parents and were temporarily sheltered in Armenia.

From the very beginning, it was obvious that this blockade was a preplanned action directed and financed by the Azerbaijani authorities, using the cover of so-called “eco-activists” for plausible deniability.

These actions of Azerbaijan constitute an overt breach of paragraph 6 of the 9 November trilateral statement, which clearly indicates, and I quote: “The Lachin Corridor shall remain under the control of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Federation; the Republic of Azerbaijan shall guarantee safe movement of citizens, vehicles and cargo in both directions along the Lachin Corridor.”

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