The International Committee of the Red Cross on Tuesday said that it is currently unable to deliver humanitarian assistance to the civilian population of Artsakh and called on the Armenia and Azerbaijan to reach what the group called as a “humanitarian consensus” in order for the flow of aid to continue.

“Despite persistent efforts, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is not currently able to bring humanitarian assistance to the civilian population through the Lachin corridor or through any other routes, including Aghdam. The organization is calling on the relevant decision makers to allow the ICRC to resume its essential humanitarian operations in the area,” the ICRC’s Eurasia director Ariane Bauer said in a statement.

“Tens of thousands of people rely on humanitarian aid reaching them through these routes. The civilian population is now facing a lack of life-saving medication and essentials like hygiene products and baby formula. Fruits, vegetables, and bread are increasingly scarce and costly, while some other food items such as dairy products, sunflower oil, cereal, fish, and chicken are not available. The last time the ICRC was allowed to bring medical items and essential food items into the area was several weeks ago,” the statement added.

“Our humanitarian aid convoys are a lifeline for the population in this area. With these convoys blocked, our concern is that the humanitarian situation will further deteriorate. We are most worried about those who cannot help themselves. The sick and people with chronic diseases are particularly at risk, as are the elderly, infirm and children. For us to operate here, we need the sides to reach a humanitarian consensus. This is life-saving work, and it must be allowed to continue,”  Bauer said.

“Under international humanitarian law, sides must allow and facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need. This includes medical supplies and essential food,” the relief organization explained added that it was able to evacuate 24 sick patients across the Lachin Corridor over the last few days, ensuring that they receive the medical treatment they need. Overall, the ICRC said it has evacuated more than 600 people in urgent need of medical care since December 2022.

Bauer expressed concern that the humanitarian situation will further deteriorate and added that the ICRC continues its bilateral dialogue with the sides and “stands ready to continue its humanitarian work once such a consensus is found.”

The ICRC’s mention of possibly delivering assistance to Artsakh via Aghdam — a new talking point being advanced by official Baku — has angered Artsakh official, who called the international organization to not legitimize Azerbaijan’s agenda, which aims to by-pass Armenia in delivering aid to Artsakh.

Artsakh’s human right’s defender Gegham Stepanyan wrote on social media on Tuesday, that while the ICRC’s attempt to sound the alarm about the deteriorating situation in Artsakh was being welcomed, its called on the ICRC “to respect the dignity of the people of Artsakh, which has been engrained in international conventions.”

He called on the ICRC to stop legitimizing Azerbaijan’s “baseless efforts.”

Stepanyan also the the ICRC “deliberate” omission of the word Artsakh or Nagorno-Karabakh from its statement was an insult to the people of Artsakh.

Official Baku called the ICRC announcement “political exploitation” with the Azerbaijani foreign ministry saying that Armenia has on many occasions refused Azerbaijan’s offers to send humanitarian assistance to Karabakh.