Azerbaijani ambassador summoned to Dutch Foreign Ministry because of Baku's failure to comply with ruling of ICJ on Lachin corridor

YEREVAN, March 23. /ARKA/. Azerbaijani ambassador to the Netherlands was summoned earlier this week to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was told that his country must comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) concerning the blockade of the Lachin corridor, Armenpress reported citing the Federation of Armenian Organizations of the Netherlands (FAON).

According to FAON, thirteen factions of the Dutch parliament had sent written questions to Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wobke Hoekstra regarding Azerbaijan's failure to fulfill the decision of the International Court of Justice of Feb 22 that obliged Azerbaijan to lift the blockade of Lachin corridor.

Responding, Wobke Hoekstra agreed with the parliamentarians, noting that Azerbaijan is not implementing the court ruling, according to which it must use all means at its disposal to ensure the unimpeded movement of people, vehicles and cargo through the Lachin corridor in both directions.

In his letter to the Parliament, the Minister underlined that the ICJ's rulings are legally binding. Therefore, the Netherlands publicly called on the Azerbaijani authorities to comply with the ruling.

According to the Minister, the Netherlands has repeatedly raised its concerns over the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, at several occasions including in bilateral talks with the Azerbaijani authorities, as in the recent meeting between the Dutch Prime Minister Rutte and Azerbaijani President Aliyev.

Minister Wobke Hoekstra has conveyed these concerns also in several conversations with the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister. The Netherlands has also expressed these concerns in various multilateral forums, such as the EU Foreign Affairs Council and the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe.

The Netherlands, together with other EU member states, has also conveyed this position by means of EU statements to, for example, the Permanent Council of the Organization for Security and Stability in Europe (OSCE).

The Minister also states that the restrictive interpretation of the Court's ruling by Azerbaijan is not shared by the Dutch Government. Minister Wobke Hoekstra underlined that the Court's ruling must be complied with in its entirety, which means that Azerbaijan must ensure the free movement of people, vehicles and cargo through the Lachin Corridor in both directions.

The United Nations’ highest court – the International Court of Justice (ICJ) - ordered Azerbaijan on February 22 to “take all steps at its disposal” to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions. The Lachin Corridor has been blocked by Azerbaijan since 12 December 2022. -0-