Arayik Harutyunyan ends sit-in at Renaissance Square in Stepanakert

ArmInfo.President of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Arayik Harutyunyan ended the sit-in at the  Renaissance Square in Stepanakert.

Thus, Harutyunyan wrote on his Facebook page that, in continuation of  the decision announced on July 17 to join the sit-in on Renaissance  Square, he would like to emphasize the following intermediate results  and further actions.

He stated that as a result of their public and non-public efforts  during this period and the activities carried out, international  pressure on Azerbaijan has increased, which was also manifested in a  number of international statements and actions.

"We succeeded in raising the level of international awareness and  attention. The main measure in this direction was my urgent press  conference held on July 24, which was attended by a fairly solid cast  - about 100 international and Diaspora journalists from 35 countries,  including representatives of the most advanced Media of the world.  The results since yesterday are reflected in the form of various  publications.  Considering the difficult situation that has arisen  and using the opportunity provided by the press conference, I  declared Artsakh a disaster zone, calling on the international  community to provide urgent humanitarian assistance.

The first reaction to this is the decision of the government of the  Republic of Armenia to send a large amount of humanitarian aid to  Artsakh today to save the people of Artsakh from disaster. Either  Azerbaijan will open the Kashatagh (Lachin) corridor for this  humanitarian aid, or another ban on the admission of humanitarian  cargo to the disaster zone, to the attention of the whole world, will  additionally confirm the genocidal intention of its policy,"  Harutyunyan said.  At the same time, the NKR President called on  other states and international organizations (primarily the relevant  UN agencies) to follow the example of the Republic of Armenia and  provide the people of Artsakh with urgent humanitarian assistance  within the framework of their international obligations.  "Also, as a  result of our efforts, a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers  of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan was held in Moscow yesterday, the  results of which, however, are unacceptable for us.  At the same  time, we look forward to other meetings and events to take place in  the coming days that will hopefully provide tangible results to  address this catastrophic situation. In this regard, we show  appropriate initiative and responsibility within our limited  capabilities. We call on the authorities of the Republic of Armenia  to make every effort to implement the decision of the International  Court of Justice of February 22 and immediately address the UN  Security Council on the issue of guaranteeing the security of the  people of Artsakh and ensuring tangible results," he added.

At the same time, he appealed to compatriots in the Republic of  Armenia and the Diaspora with a request and appeal to consistently  increase pressure on the main actors of the international community,  especially on the permanent members of the UN Security Council (the  governments of Russia, the United States, France, Great Britain and  China), as well as on the institutions of the UN and the EU, using  all possible means to attract attention and prompt urgent action.   "They may include actions of civil disobedience, awareness raising,  protest and others, using tough and non-standard methods within the  limits of the permissible. The pressure for the ending the blockade  of the Kashatagh corridor should increase, using both political and  humanitarian tools. In this regard, the Artsakh authorities are  discussing all possible scenarios and steps, with the aim of applying  them based on the development of the situation.

Considering that my sit-in, popular movement and all other efforts  have already achieved some results in attracting international  attention and inducing practical steps, I decided to end the sit-in  and continue my efforts in an emergency working regime.

At the same time, as part of the nationwide movement, sit-ins and  other actions by our other compatriots continue, and I will  periodically meet with them and jointly discuss our actions,"  Harutyunyan concluded.