Canada's House of Commons committee calls on Azerbaijan to open Lachin corridor

YEREVAN, February 15. /ARKA/. Canada's House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously adopted a motion tabled by MP Stéphane Bergeron, calling on Azerbaijan to open the Lachin Corridor, guarantee freedom of movement and avoid further deterioration of the humanitarian situation, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) reported.

The motion will be referred to the House of Commons and will request a response from the Government.

On December 12, Azerbaijan effectively cut off access to Nagorno-Karabakh, letting a group of self-described Azerbaijani “eco-activists” with no history of environmental advocacy barge through Russian peacekeepers to block the sole road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.

Local authorities had to close schools and put 120,000 inhabitants on ration cards as Azerbaijan continues to disrupt gas and electricity supplies amid sub-zero temperatures.

Armenia’s leaders accuse Azerbaijan of seeking to ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh by starving the local ethnic Armenian population and forcing it to leave.

Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev said in a January 10 TV interview: 'For those (of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians) who does not want to become Azerbaijani citizen, the road is not closed. They can leave. They can go on their own, or they can ride with Russian peacekeepers, or they can go by bus. The road to Armenia is open.” -0-