Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said that Azerbaijan's state and state-affiliated propaganda has been devising what he described as “media background” for a large-scale attack on Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) for a long time.

Pashinyan told a Cabinet meeting on Thursday, March 16 that tendencies of increasing tensions are also visible on the ground.

"Our assessment remains the same: the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan is making preparations for ethnic cleansing and genocide against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh," he said.

Pashinyan also noted that Armenia should take urgent measures to launch international mechanisms for the prevention of genocides. He added that he has given relevant instructions to the Foreign Ministry.

"We mean mechanisms within the framework of the United Nations, I have given relevant instructions to the Foreign Ministry about this," he said.

The Prime Minister added that the work is continuing in the direction of sending an international fact-finding mission to the Lachin Corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh.

Since December 12, the sole road connecting Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia - the Lachin Corridor - has been blocked by self-described Azerbaijani environmentalists. Karabakh residents have reported food and fuel shortages, while hospital patients don't have access to essential medicines, with only a handful allowed transfer to facilities in Armenia proper.