The capital of Karabakh is a “ghost city”… and the UN mission is “shocked”.
The Russian reaction was not long in coming after the Armenian Parliament ratified on Tuesday the Rome Statute, which paves the way for Armenia’s accession to the International Criminal Court, in a move described as posing a new challenge to Moscow.
Although the step was expected, Russian circles were hoping, until the last minute, that Yerevan would postpone the voting process in Parliament, against the backdrop of widespread internal controversy, which was reflected in the warnings of the Armenian opposition against taking a step that might “finally undermine the relationship with Moscow,” according to a statement. Armenian deputy.
The Parliament of Armenia during its session on Tuesday (AP)
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Armenian Parliament’s ratification of the Rome Statute was “an incorrect decision,” recalling that his country “raised many questions about the step before the official Armenian authorities.”
The presidential spokesman pointed out that “additional questions will arise directed to the current leadership of Armenia; It was sent to the Armenian side in advance.”
Moscow had expressed dissatisfaction with several steps taken by Yerevan, which it described as “hostile,” including Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s confirmation of his country’s desire for Europe to play a broader role in efforts to later arrange the situation in Karabakh, ignoring a possible Russian role. Also, against the backdrop of Pashinyan’s criticism of “previous alliances,” which he said did not help Armenia confront challenges and protect its national security, in direct reference to Armenia’s membership in the Moscow-led Collective Security Organization. Russian diplomats expressed their conviction that the Armenian leadership “succumbed to Western pressure to withdraw from the organization.”
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan delivers a speech in Parliament (Archives: AFP)
On Tuesday, Peskov renewed his country’s position regarding the International Criminal Court, which months ago issued an arrest warrant against President Vladimir Putin. He said that Moscow has always expressed doubts about the work of this court, and informed the Armenian side of the repercussions of the accession step on bilateral relations.
He added that his country “does not agree at all with the logic of Prime Minister Pashinyan, who argued for the necessity of adopting the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to enhance Armenia’s security requirements.”
Meanwhile, a UN mission team that visited Karabakh conveyed details of their observations in the cities of the region, which has become almost devoid of its population.
Mission officials said that the area had turned into an “abandoned ghost town.”
Two cars from a Red Cross convoy cross a Russian forces checkpoint into Karabakh (AFP)
Media outlets quoted Marco Socci, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, as saying that “only a few hundred people remained in the capital of Karabakh, days after the end of the Azerbaijani military operation towards the region, which was inhabited by an Armenian majority.”
The UN official added: “Karabakh has turned into a completely deserted city. Hospitals are not working; The medical teams left. The Water Board authorities left. “The morgue director also left… This scenario is very surreal.”
Armenia announced that the vast majority of the population of about 120,000 people had left the region and moved to Armenian territory. Yerevan accused Baku of implementing a policy of “ethnic cleansing,” which Azerbaijan strongly refuted, and announced that the residents of the region left freely and did not face any pressure.
What is noteworthy is that by the time the first United Nations mission arrived in the region on Sunday, the residents had left.
A Russian flag and a picture of President Vladimir Putin in the capital of Karabakh, Stepanakert, on Monday (Reuters)
Many Armenians who fled Karabakh said they felt that the international mission’s visit came too late. “At most a few hundred people remain, most of them officials, emergency service personnel, volunteers, and some people with special needs,” wrote Artak Beglarian, a former Armenian official in the region.
Earlier, spokesman for the United Nations Secretary-General, Stephane Dujarric, said that the United Nations team on the ground, as part of the first United Nations mission to reach the region in 30 years, sought to determine the humanitarian needs of the remaining people.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna with Armenian Health Minister Anahit Avanesyan at a medical center in Yerevan on Tuesday (AFP)
In a report on its visit, the United Nations confirmed on Monday that “the mission was shocked by the sudden manner in which local residents left their homes and the suffering that this experience caused.”
On the other hand, Yerevan criticized the lack of a UN condemnation against Azerbaijan against the backdrop of the mission’s visit.
Armenia’s ambassador at large, Edmond Marukyan, said that the UN mission “announced that it did not find violations (…) The so-called UN mission in Karabakh is discrediting the organization as an institution and doing everything to legitimize ethnic cleansing and arbitrary arrests.”
He stressed that Yerevan “is awaiting the issuance of the final report on the mission’s visit to Karabakh.”
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna arrived in Armenia to hold talks with the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, as well as arranging meetings on her agenda with some refugees who fled Karabakh.
Before the trip, the French Foreign Ministry said that Colonna affirms France’s support for Armenia’s territorial integrity. The Minister stressed that special attention should be paid to “discussing with the Armenian authorities the concrete details to enhance our cooperation in all fields.”
Paris preceded the visit by announcing the sending of urgent medical and humanitarian aid to the displaced from Karabakh.
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2023-10-03 14:50:34
