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Foreign Minister Sergey Ghazaryan of the Artsakh Republic on Friday sent letters to ambassadors of a number of countries accredited to Armenia.

In his letter, the minister presented the humanitarian problems in Artsakh caused by the closure of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, as well as the negative impact of natural gas and electricity supply disruptions on people's daily life and the republic's economy, the Artsakh Foreign Ministry reported.

"It was emphasized that the blockade is not the first attempt by Azerbaijan to ethnically cleanse Artsakh, but is a direct continuation of the aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan in 2020, as a result of which a significant part of the territory of Artsakh was occupied, and 38,000 people became refugees and IDPs," it said in a statement.

"He noted that Azerbaijan's rejection of the Artsakh government's offer to conduct an independent international monitoring of the Kashen mine was yet another proof that the “protest” led by the Azerbaijani special services pursued a completely different goal, specifically, to take full control of the Lachin Corridor in violation of the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020.

"It was underlined that Azerbaijan's false claims that the road was open were refuted by the fact that from 12 December 2022 until today, no vehicle belonging to Artsakh residents passed through the Lachin Corridor. In fact, only the vehicles of the ICRC and the Russian Peacekeeping Contingent are allowed to pass through the blocked road. Moreover, failing to convince the international community of the allegedly ecological nature of the “protest”, the Azerbaijani authorities claim that the events taking place in the Lachin Corridor are their internal affair, which they do not have to discuss with any country. Meanwhile, it is obvious that all the above-mentioned actions of Azerbaijan pursue one single goal - ethnic cleansing of Artsakh," reads the statement.

In his letter, Sergey Ghazaryan urged the foreign diplomats accredited to Armenia to present to their governments the real picture of what was happening on the ground. In particular, the letter said: “We urge you to convey to your Government our appeal to take effective measures, including imposing sanctions or using other instruments of pressure, aimed at lifting the blockade of Artsakh and preventing the criminal intentions of Azerbaijan”.