Themis must remove bandage from her eyes - David Babayan 

ArmInfo.David Babayan, Advisor to the President of Artsakh, has commented on the ruling by the International Court of Justice.  

"Armenian lawyers have done a good and highly professional job at the  International Court of Justice.  Thanks for this. But, in general,  the decision of the International Court of Justice on the lawsuit  filed by Armenia against Azerbaijan can be characterized as 60/40 in  our favor. Although, not in ours, but in favor of justice, in favor  of law and morality. The main thing is that the court ruled that  Azerbaijan is obliged to take all measures in its power to ensure the  unhindered movement of people, vehicles and goods along the Lachin  corridor in both directions. No less important is the fact that  Azerbaijan's claims were rejected.

But, on the issue of these pseudo "eco-activists" and "gas torture"  of the people of Artsakh by Azerbaijan, the International Court  actually gave "indulgence" to Azerbaijan, and if in churches  indulgence can be obtained after repentance, in the behavior of Baku  instead of repentance, we have sincere self-justification.  This is  the case when Themis must remove the bandage from her eyes," he wrote  in a Facebook post. 

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that Azerbaijan  must guarantee free movement along the Lachin Corridor. 

The Lachin Corridor has been closed since December 12, placing  Artsakh under blockade. The corridor, the sole route connecting  Artsakh with Armenia, has been blocked by Azerbaijani activists  supported by their government. Armenia sent a request to the ICJ on  December 28 for provisional measures ordering Azerbaijan to reopen  the corridor. 

In its final ruling on February 22, the United Nations court observed  that "since 12 December 2022, the connection between Nagorno-Karabakh  and Armenia via the Lachin Corridor has been disrupted." The ICJ  ruled that Azerbaijan must "take all measures at its disposal to  ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the  Lachin Corridor in both directions." 

"The disruption on the Lachin Corridor has impeded the transfer of  persons of Armenian national or ethnic origin hospitalized in  Nagorno-Karabakh to medical facilities in Armenia for urgent medical  care. The evidence also indicates that there have been hindrances to  the importation into Nagorno-Karabakh of essential goods, causing  shortages of food, medicine and other life-saving medical supplies,"  the decision reads.

Armenia had also requested that Azerbaijan "cease its orchestration  and support of the alleged 'protests' blocking uninterrupted free  movement along the Lachin Corridor in both directions" and  "immediately fully restore and refrain from disrupting or impeding  the provision of natural gas and other public utilities to  Nagorno-Karabakh." The ICJ rejected those provisional measures. 

The ICJ also rejected a request for provisional measures ordering  Armenia to halt any efforts to plant mines in territories that came  under Azerbaijani control at the end of the 2020 Artsakh War,  including "the use of the Lachin Corridor for this purpose."  Azerbaijan requested that Armenia provide information about the  quantity and location of landmines and booby traps and allow  Azerbaijan to demine these territories.  

Azerbaijan presented a similar request to the ICJ in December 2021.  The ICJ rejected that request on the grounds that it did not have  enough evidence that Armenia's alleged conduct violated the rights of  Azerbaijani people under international law. It rejected the new  request made by Azerbaijan on January 4, 2023 on the same grounds.