Yerevan /Mediamax/. Armenia’s representative Yeghishe Kirakosyan told at the UN International Court of Justice hearing that practically all Armenians have by now been forced to leave Nagorno-Karabakh.

TASS correspondent reports from The Hague, that the hearing was held on the interim measures requested by the Armenian side within the framework of the lawsuit against Azerbaijan on violations of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination.

“No ethnic Armenians practically remained in Nagorno-Karabakh. If this is not ethnic cleansing, I do not know what ethnic cleansing may be called,” Kirakosyan said.

According to the Armenian representative, Azerbaijan’s responsibility for these actions should be established when the case is considered on the merits.

“However, you can still have a significant impact on the situation on the ground today. There is still time to prevent the forced displacement of ethnic Armenians from becoming irreversible, to protect the small number of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as those who have been abducted and illegally detained in Azerbaijani prisons,” Yeghishe Kirakosyan said, addressing the judges.

“Under these circumstances, only targeted, clear-cut interim measures protecting the rights of ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh will prevent the continuation of ethnic cleansing carried out by Azerbaijan,” the Armenian representative emphasized.