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Artsakh’s Human Rights Defender Gegham Stepanyan calls on the European Union to impose sanctions against Azerbaijan in response to its flagrant violations of the Artsakh people’s rights.

“The European Union, an organization strongly protecting human rights, should impose sanctions against Azerbaijan for gross violations of the rights of 120,000 people in Artsakh,” he told a news conference in Yerevan on Tuesday.

His comments came after a group of Azerbaijanis blocked the sole road connecting Artsakh to Armenia on ostensibly environmental grounds on Monday morning.

Stepanyan underscored that the EU, which is based on a strong commitment to promoting and protecting human rights around the world, has not responded to Azerbaijan’s criminal activity so far.

“Naturally, geopolitical and economic interests have sidelined human rights protection especially recently, but this should not be the case with the EU, which should be the first to respond to the current situation and stand up for human rights," he said.

Artsakh’s caretaker Foreign Minister David Babayan said, for his part, that numerous letters had been sent to European structures to warn over the threats posed by the closure of the Lachin corridor.

“We expect the EU to adequately respond to Azerbaijan's actions as they are causing a humanitarian catastrophe and are part of its genocidal policy," the official said.