YEREVAN, August 31. /TASS/. Azerbaijan refused to allow a 10-truck convoy carrying humanitarian cargo from France intended for Nagorno-Karabakh residents to pass through the Lachin Corridor, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told a government meeting on Thursday.
The cargo was brought to Kornidzor, Syunik Region, in the approaches to the Lachin Corridor by a French delegation led by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo. "The humanitarian aid [convoy] was denied access to Nagorno-Karabakh. This means that Azerbaijan, in the absence of Russian peacekeepers, carries on with the practice of genocide through famine, by not letting humanitarian assistance into Nagorno-Karabakh," Pashinyan said, surmising that this policy was aimed at clearing Nagorno-Karabakh of Armenian residents.
Twenty-two trucks with humanitarian cargo already stuck near the Lachin Corridor were joined by the 10 vehicles yesterday, the Armenian premier said.
Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh receive humanitarian aid with assistance from Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), while those locals who need medical help are sent to Armenia with assistance from Red Cross employees. In mid-June, Baku banned all humanitarian deliveries to the disputed region following a shootout between Armenian and Azerbaijani border guards.