Due to the blocking of the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh, a humanitarian catastrophe has begun, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said. Armenia blames Azerbaijan for this, which, in turn, laid the blame on Russian peacekeepers. They were introduced into the territory of the unrecognized republic in 2020, after a 44-day war.
According to the Armenian Foreign Ministry, on the morning of December 12, Azerbaijani activists blocked the only highway between Karabakh and Armenia. According to the agency, they introduced themselves as eco-activists and set up tents near the city of Shushi. As the BBC notes , outwardly they bear little resemblance to environmentalists, and the action itself looks political. Some participants came to it with Azerbaijani flags. Several women were wearing fur coats.
As a result, the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh were allegedly "deprived of the right to free movement". Armenia claims that Azerbaijan grossly violated the Trilateral Statement, in which, in addition to them, Russia is also involved. According to him, the Lachin corridor is under the control of Russian peacekeepers, and Azerbaijan guarantees the safety of movement along it.
On December 14, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that the activists do not interfere with the passage of vehicles. The assistant to the President of Azerbaijan claims that the Russian peacekeeping mission is behind this. Armenia also claims that Azerbaijan, among other things, cut off the gas supply to Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan denies these accusations and maintains that Armenia is responsible for supplying gas to the territories where Russian peacekeepers are stationed. “The indicated territories have not yet been integrated into the gas supply system of Azerbaijan,” Azerigaz said in a statement.