Artsakh Republic President Arayik Harutyunyan sent letters to the heads of all UN Security Council member countries, the UN Secretary-General, the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the President of the European Council, the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as well as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia, demanding to apply urgent measures within the framework of the international obligations undertaken. And practical steps to stop the illegal and complete blockade of Artsakh carried out by Azerbaijan and the systematic mass crimes and terrorism against the people of Artsakh.

The letters, in addition to presenting the expectations of the Republic of Artsakh from each addressee, also referred to the current situation. The central part of the text of the letters is below.

"I, as the president of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), on behalf of the government and people of Artsakh, with this urgent appeal, alert the international community about the security and humanitarian crisis formed and deepening in Artsakh, which is rapidly turning into a disaster. This situation was formed as a result of the following criminal actions carried out by Azerbaijan.

• On December 12, 2022, as a result of Azerbaijan's illegal blocking of the Lachin (Kashatagh) corridor connecting Artsakh to Armenia and the outside world, around 120,000 people of Artsakh were under siege. In addition, around 30,000 citizens of the Republic of Artsakh were deprived of the opportunity to exercise their right to return to their homeland.
• Since then, the humanitarian movement of people and goods through the Lachin Corridor has taken place exclusively by the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeeping forces, with a minimal volume and specific periodic disruptions, and the movement of vehicles of Artsakh citizens is wholly prohibited.
• From January 9, 2023, Azerbaijan interrupted the power supply of the single high-voltage line between Armenia and Artsakh, causing severe energy and humanitarian problems in Artsakh during these 185 days, daily six-hour blackouts of power supply, 48% decrease in electricity consumption and local production and supply of electricity. Systems exhaustion. And now, since December 13, 2022, and almost continuously since March 21, Azerbaijan has disrupted the only gas supply from Armenia to Artsakh (for a total of 148 days), thus deepening the energy and humanitarian crisis.
• On April 23, Azerbaijan set up an illegal checkpoint on the Artsakh-Armenia border in the Lachin Corridor, already officially and openly starting military, harsh, and arbitrary control over all movements.
• From June 15, Azerbaijan's complete blockade of the Lachin Corridor followed, prohibiting the two-way transportation of any person or goods (including food, medicine, hygiene items, and fuel) even by the Red Cross and peacekeepers.
• From June 25 to July 10, transportation of patients with urgent problems to Armenian medical centers through the Red Cross was restored to a minimal extent, as well as the import of certain medicines to Artsakh. From July 10, the movement of the Red Cross is again blocked.
• Throughout this period, Azerbaijan used force and threat of force against the people of Artsakh, with apparent manifestations of ethnic hatred and terrorism and with the undisguised purpose of ethnic cleansing.
• Azerbaijan's use of force and threat of force continues to impede the organization of agricultural operations on around 10,000 hectares of land adjacent to the contact line, which constitutes a significant portion of the total cultivated land.
• Especially as a result of the suspension of all humanitarian supplies from June 15 and the use of domestic stocks only, the humanitarian situation is worsening day by day, in particular:
• There is a worsening food shortage, even though before the blockade, around 90 percent of all food items used were imported from Armenia.
• Due to the deepening shortage of fuel and other necessary resources, about 70 percent of planned agricultural works were not carried out, and more in other branches of the economy.
• For the same reason, the internal movement of public transport was reduced by about 50 percent, and in the case of private transport, almost entirely.
• The growing lack of medicines, medical and hygiene supplies, and the ban on transporting medical patients to Armenia threaten people's lives and health.
• In daily power outages and fuel shortages, medical equipment operates with great difficulty and disruptions, decreasing service volume and quality.
• First of all, about 2,000 pregnant women and about 30,000 children have to survive in conditions of malnutrition due to a lack of necessary foods and vitamins.

Daily power outages, fuel shortages, and other necessities cause severe water supply and telecommunication infrastructure disruptions in many settlements.

Due to the blockade and disruption of electricity and gas supplies, around 12,000 people have become unemployed and deprived of their source of income, more than 60 percent of those working in the private sector.

The complete blockade of the Republic of Artsakh and its isolation from the outside world carried out with the interim goal of forcibly subjugating the people of Artsakh, deepens the humanitarian crisis and prepares a favorable ground for Azerbaijan's ongoing crimes against humanity to turn into the crime of genocide. With such steps, Azerbaijan deliberately creates unbearable conditions for the life of the people of Artsakh to achieve the depopulation of Artsakh and the destruction of the people of Artsakh as such.

The mentioned and many other security and humanitarian issues pose increasing threats to the physical existence of the people of Artsakh. The current situation is explosive and is likely to become a natural disaster not only for the people of Artsakh but also for the entire region in a very short period.

In such circumstances, we are sorry to note that Azerbaijan is criminally not fulfilling and constantly violating the provisions of the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, the 2022 decision of the European Court of Human Rights. The decision of December 21, the orders of the UN International Court of Justice of February 22 and July 6, 2023, and the demands and urges of other international organizations and many states. Moreover, encouraged by international impunity, Azerbaijan has consistently developed aggressive and criminal actions."