A regular Cabinet meeting took place today, chaired by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.

Before discussing the issues on the agenda, the Prime Minister referred to the illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, the processes taking place in recent days.

The Prime Minister, in particular, noted:

"Dear participants of the Cabinet meeting, dear people,

Azerbaijan's illegal blocking of the Lachin Corridor continues and about 400 tons of humanitarian cargo intended for Nagorno Karabakh by the Government of the Republic of Armenia, the private sector, and France continues to wait at the entrance to the Lachin Corridor. At the same time, the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh remains tense. The only change in the situation is that a certain movement of citizens in need of treatment and others has begun through the Lachin Corridor through the Red Cross and the peacekeeping troops of the Russian Federation in Nagorno-Karabakh.

At the same time, we have received reliable information that there are plans to unilaterally open the Lachin Corridor, that is, to allow exit from Nagorno Karabakh, not to allow entry. I want to remind you that at this moment there are many residents of Nagorno Karabakh in the Republic of Armenia who cannot return to Nagorno Karabakh. About 5,000 of them are in Armenia due to the illegal closure of the Lachin Corridor since December of last year, and another 30,000 due to non-fulfillment of point 7 of the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020. Let me remind you that point 7 of the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020 says: "Internally displaced persons and refugees shall return to Nagorno-Karabakh territory and surrounding regions under the supervision of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees."

The non-fulfillment of this provision and other facts continuously prove that Azerbaijan's main goal is to displace the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh through ethnic cleansing, be it through starvation, military operation or other measures. The information we have proves that Baku is continuously torpedoing the dialogue with Stepanakert by various means, trying to place the responsibility for that on Nagorno Karabakh.

The position of the Republic of Armenia remains the same. Issues related to the rights and security of the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh should be addressed through the Baku-Stepanakert dialogue within the framework of the international mechanism. In this context, the implementation of point 7 of the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020 is also important, which, I would like to emphasize, provides for the return of refugees and internally displaced persons not only to the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh, but also to adjacent regions. This means that not only the Armenians of Hadrut, a number of Martakert villages, a number of Martuni villages, but also Getashen, Martunashen, Shahumyan and other regions should have the opportunity to return to their homes with dignity and safety.

At the same time, I want to emphasize the commitment of the Republic of Armenia to the peace agenda. I have to inform you that we have sent to the Azerbaijani side our new proposals for a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Thank you."