The regular session of the Government was held under the leadership of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan. At the beginning of the session, the Prime Minister referred to the humanitarian crisis created in Nagorno-Karabakh as a result of Azerbaijan's illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor, the siege of humanitarian aid from Kornidzor to Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as Azerbaijan's non-implementation of binding decisions of the International Court of Justice and the aborting of the peace process.

The Prime Minister, in particular, noted:

"Dear participants of the government session,
Dear people,

The humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh continues to deepen and expand. Since December 2022, Azerbaijan has blocked commercial supplies to Nagorno-Karabakh by illegally blocking the Lachin Corridor. In other words, shops and pharmacies operating in Nagorno-Karabakh have had no external supply of their product range since December 2022.

Since June 15 of this year, Azerbaijan has also blocked the delivery of humanitarian goods to Nagorno-Karabakh, including baby food and medicine, through the International Red Cross.

In the humanitarian crisis conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh, the governmental commission of the Republic of Armenia decided to send humanitarian goods to Nagorno- Karabakh on July 26 of this year. Nineteen trucks headed to Nagorno Karabakh still stand in the Kornidzor village of the Syunik region, near the Lachin corridor. The contents of those 19 trucks are as follows: Flour: 100 tons, pasta: 80 tons, sugar: 60 tons, vegetable oil: 40 tons, milk powder: 40 tons, salt: 20 tons, baby food: 12 tons, medicine: 9 tons, for a total of 361 tons. This cargo content has been certified to diplomats accredited in Armenia and can be confirmed at any time by inspection of trucks parked in Kornidzor for 16 days.

Later, the humanitarian convoy was joined by 2 more trucks with 9 tons of sweets, namely 33 names from a company producing candies and cookies, and 1 truck with 1 trailer with 25 tons of pasta from the Mayor of Paris and the Ile de France, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Haut-de-France, On behalf of the administrative heads of the regions of Occitanie, Land of the Loire.

Blocking the entry of humanitarian goods to Nagorno Karabakh is not given any explanation. As you understand, these additional cargoes also have no access to Nagorno Karabakh. If, for a moment, we do not consider this practice of Azerbaijan to block the entry of humanitarian goods to Nagorno Karabakh in the context of Azerbaijan's open policy of subjecting the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh to genocide. That is, there is no explanation if we put this circumstance aside. More precisely, the ban on the entry of humanitarian goods into Nagorno Karabakh is made more reliable by the statements about Azerbaijan's policy of subjecting the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh to genocide. Indeed, opinions are being heard more and more loudly from international expert circles that Azerbaijan's policy of causing a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh due to the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor can be viewed from the perspective of the December 9, 1948, UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. I believe that the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh caused by the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor has developed to the point that more extraordinary efforts should be made to provide an international legal assessment of the situation, especially since Azerbaijan continues to fail to comply with the order of the International Court of Justice on February 22 of this year. And the legally binding decisions of July 6 on ensuring the unimpeded movement of people, cargo, and vehicles through the Lachine Corridor.

It is worth noting the fact that the highest international courts confirmed in their recent statements that Azerbaijan's comments on the February 22 and July 6 decisions of the International Court of Justice have nothing to do with reality and that Azerbaijan is obliged to ensure the smooth operation of the Lachin Corridor.

You remember that especially after the decision of July 6, Azerbaijan tried to present that with the decision of July 6, the International Court of Justice recorded that the decision of February 22 was fulfilled. There is no need to refer to it. Meanwhile, something completely different was written in black and white. I read that decision. But Azerbaijan continued these comments, and it was essential that international courts, including high representatives of the United Nations and international partners, recorded their attitude to the situation related to the Lachin Corridor precisely in the context of the legally binding decisions of the International Court of Justice of February 22 and July 6.

Dear participants of the government session,
Dear people,

Even more so in these circumstances, I must record that the best solution to the created situation is the removal of the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan and the start of the Stepanakert-Baku dialogue within the framework of the international mechanism.

The Republic of Armenia, for its part, continues to reaffirm its commitment to the peace agenda and calls on the official Baku to refrain from steps aimed at nullifying the historic opportunity to establish peace.

Thank you."