Armenian FM: Azerbaijan holding 120,000 people hostage in Nagorno-Karabakh

The worsening humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) has been caused by Azerbaijan’s illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor, Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan said at a joint news conference with his Belgian counterpart Hadja Lahbib in Yerevan on Tuesday.

The Lachin Corridor is Artsakh’s sole land link with Armenia which has been blocked by Baku for over eight months now.

The two ministers discussed the irreversible consequences of the Artsakh blockade at a private meeting earlier on Tuesday.

Mirzoyan warned the blockade is part of Baku’s policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Also, he called attention to Azerbaijan’s recent ceasefire violations in Artsakh and on the border with Armenia.

“Azerbaijan is, in fact, holding hostage the 120,000-strong population of Nagorno-Karabakh, thus challenging the efforts of the international community and, primarily, Armenia aimed at establishing real stability and peace in the region," he stated, calling for practical steps to stop Baku’s destructive and inhuman policy.