Azerbaijani Ambassador Summoned to Dutch Foreign Ministry — EADaily, March 23, 2023 — Politics, Europe News

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands summoned the Ambassador of Azerbaijan and reminded him of the need for his country to comply with the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) regarding the unblocking of the Lachin corridor, the “Armenpress” news agency reports today, March 23, citing the message of the Federation of Armenian Organizations of the Netherlands (FAON).

According to the Armenian lobbying organization, the parliamentary factions of the Dutch Parliament sent written questions to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country Wopke Hoekstre in connection with Azerbaijan’s failure to comply with the decision of the UN ICJ dated February 22 to unblock the Lachin corridor. Answering the deputies, the head of the Dutch diplomacy agreed with them, noting that Azerbaijan does not comply with the decision of the court of the world organization (the headquarters of the UNIC is located in The Hague), according to which it must use all means at its disposal to ensure the unhindered movement of people, transport funds and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions.

In a response letter, the minister stressed that the decisions of the UNIC are legally binding, therefore, the Netherlands has publicly called on the Azerbaijani authorities to implement this decision.

According to FAON, the Dutch Foreign Minister has repeatedly expressed concern about the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh, created as a result of the blockade of the Lachin corridor, including in bilateral negotiations with the Azerbaijani authorities, as well as at a recent meeting between the Prime Minister of the Netherlands and the President of Azerbaijan.

FAON notes that the Dutch Foreign Minister conveyed these concerns to his Azeri counterpart in several conversations.

Recall that the Lachin corridor, the only transport link between Nagorno-Karabakh and the outside world, has been blocked by Azerbaijani activists for the fourth month since December 12. According to the tripartite statement of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan dated November 9, 2020, the 5 km wide corridor should be under the control of Russian peacekeepers.