Artsakh Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan today met with OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Foreign Minister of North Macedonia Bujar Osmani who is on a working visit to Armenia.

Stepanyan, according to his office, referred to the policy of ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijan after the ceasefire on November 9, 2020, pointing out specific facts and examples regarding the crimes committed by Azerbaijan.

Stepanyan described the humanitarian consequences of the four-month-long illegal blockade by Azerbaijan and the large-scale violations of many rights of the people of Artsakh.

He underlined that Azerbaijan’s ignoring the calls of international actors and not fulfilling the decision of the International Court of Justice of the United Nations does not cause any consequences for Baku, which further expands Azerbaijan's impunity.

Stepanyan expressed his displeasure with the international community's inadequate response to the humanitarian crisis, and expressed hope that practical steps will be taken by international partners to lift the blockade.

Emphasizing the OSCE's role to settle the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, Stepanyan stressed the need to restore the OSCE Minsk Group format, to send a fact-finding team to Artsakh and to have a permanent presence there.

The Personal Representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Andrzej Kasprzyk attended the meeting.

Photo (from left): Gegham Stepanyan, Bujar Osmani