On the fifth day of an ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor—the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia—Artsakh’s President Arayik Harutyunyan issued a message to citizens praising the will and resilience of the people of Artsakh.
Below is a translated text of the message, which Harutyunyan posted on the Artsakh President’s Facebook page.
Dear compatriots,
It already has been five days since Azerbaijan has been keeping the 120,000 population of Artsakh in a total blockade with an attention-grabbing agenda—the fake pretext of concern for the environment—thus putting the Armenians of Artsakh on the brink of a humanitarian disaster.
However, as we have seen, the people of Artsakh have not succumbed and are honorably overcoming the current situation, which are do not correspond with 21st century norms and are unfathomable for civilized people. They are confronting difficulties, suffering and the humanitarian consequences arising from the situation.
To this end, on behalf of the people of the Artsakh Republic, I declare:
The people of Artsakh are supporters and advocates of peace, stability and neighborly relations between peoples in the region.
The people of Artsakh are open to discussing any issue or problem, to free dialogue, are willing to build and anticipate constructive relations formed on the basis of mutual respect of rights.
We consider coercion, protests and use of force unacceptable and we call for the complete rejection of the idea of depopulating Artsakh, which is an integral part of the Azerbaijani state policy, as a result of which the Artsakh Liberation Movement began. In that case only will the will to achieve peace be appreciated, and peace be sincere, real, and tangible.
The people of Artsakh have adopted a decision to resist the encroachment against their rights and to bear the physical deprivation inflicted on us with dignity, thereby neutralizing all possible attempts to impose concessions and conditions constraining the decision-making on Mother Armenia.
We express our gratitude to the Republic of Armenia and our compatriots in the Diaspora, both of which are speaking out and informing the international community about the crime being committed against the citizens of the Artsakh Republic, initiating legal processes, and simply encouraging and giving strength to the people of Artsakh.
“We convey our gratitude to the Russian peacekeeping contingent for remaining faithful to their mission. The peacekeepers have been standing by the people of Artsakh firmly and resolutely for days, without paying attention to provocations, blatant insults and contempt. We highly appreciate the conscious steps taken by the peacekeepers to alleviate the humanitarian problems of our people,” said Harutyunyan
We will continue our struggle and will never be used to put pressure on the Russian Federation or damage its reputation, because we are sure that the Russian Federation has the irrevocable will to solve the problems diplomatically and through dialogue.
