Kim Kardashian Issues Stark Warning Over Armenia Crisis: 'Genocide'

Kim Kardashian has warned of the potential for genocide against ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan declared that it had won back control over the breakaway republic, the scene of tensions for three decades.

The reality TV star is of Armenian descent and has often touted her heritage. With her sister Kourtney in 2019, she made a high-profile visit to the South Caucasus country where the siblings had their children baptized.

Baku launched on Tuesday what it called an anti-terror operation in the enclave recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan, but which has an Armenian-majority population. After 24 hours of shelling that reportedly killed dozens of people, Azerbaijan said it had restored its sovereignty.

Kardashian posted on her X (formerly Twitter) account: "Sadly, the potential for genocide of Armenians Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh is worse now because of full-scale attacks by Azerbaijan on the civilian population after months of blockade & starvation."

There has been international concern over the fate of the Lachin Corridor that connects Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, which is known in Armenian as Artsakh. Azerbaijan has been accused of blocking the route, which has stopped the transport of food, medicine and essential services.

"We appeal to the US government & international community to intervene immediately to prevent a humanitarian disaster," Kardashian added in the post to her more than 75 million followers. She shared a link to an op-ed she co-wrote for Rolling Stone magazine this month before the latest hostilities.

Headlined "My Plea to Joe Biden to Stop Another Armenian Genocide," the op-ed referred to the destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire more than 100 years ago.

Kardashian said the "ruthless blockade has crossed all red lines of human rights and humanitarian law." The op-ed condemned the blocking of human-rights groups, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and "the hateful rhetoric accompanying the blockade are signs of genocidal intent."

The piece cited a report by Luis Moreno Ocampo, the former chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which concludes that Baku is "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction." Newsweek has emailed Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry for comment.

In an interview on Wednesday with the British program Channel 4 News, Azerbaijan's Ambassador to the U.K. Elin Suleymenov denied that Baku intended an ethnic cleansing operation in forcing those identifying as Armenian to leave. "We have offered from day one to welcome and integrate the Armenian community into society in Azerbaijan," Suleymenov said.

Protesters in the Armenian capital Yerevan have demanded the resignation of the country's Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan for his handling of the crisis. It comes after he recognized Nagorno-Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan but wanted security guarantees for the local Armenian population.

Meanwhile, on Thursday, reintegration talks have taken place between representatives of Azerbaijan and the ethnic Armenian leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh with no breakthrough. There were claims from both sides that a ceasefire had been broken. Newsweek has not been able to verify these as yet.