The Armenian government on Tuesday (January 3rd) urged Russia and the international community to help unblock Nagorno-Karabakh’s land link with Armenia, saying the humanitarian crisis in the region “ is getting worse day by day. »
He again condemned the continuation of the Azerbaijani blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which constitutes a flagrant violation of the agreement negotiated by Russia and which ended the 2020 war in Karabakh.
The truce agreement placed the corridor under the control of Russian peacekeeping forces and committed Baku to guarantee freedom and security of movement in this corridor. A section of this vital road for supplying Karabakh with food and other essentials was blocked on December 12 by government-backed Azerbaijanis, for apparent environmental reasons.
« Lack of essential commodities, food and medicine [au Karabagh] becomes more and more important and the danger of palpable malnutrition the Armenian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “ Hundreds of families remain separated, being on different sides of the Azerbaijani blockade. 120,000 people [vivant au Karabagh] were turned into de facto prisoners. »
The ministry has requested the urgent dispatch of an international fact-finding mission to Karabakh and the Lachin corridor.
« Since the provisions of the Tripartite Declaration [de cessez-le-feu] were violated as a result of Azerbaijan’s illegal actions, we also expect Russia to make clear efforts to eliminate this flagrant violation without any preconditions “, adds the press release.
Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said last week that Russian peacekeeping forces had become a “ silent witness of the efforts made by Baku to depopulate Karabakh through the blockade. He said Moscow should present a plan to reopen the corridor or seek to set up a multinational peacekeeping mission in Karabakh.
Russian officials dismissed the criticism, saying peacekeepers are doing their best to end the crisis. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also stressed that the United Nations cannot authorize another peacekeeping operation in Karabakh without Baku’s consent.
The United Nations Security Council discussed the Azerbaijani blockade on December 20 during an emergency session initiated by Armenia. The United States, Russia, France and other nations have demanded the immediate reopening of the only road linking Karabakh to Armenia.
Nevertheless, members of the Security Council failed to agree in the following days on the text of a relevant declaration. An Azerbaijani diplomat said late last week that a statement “ anti-azerbaïdjanaise written by France was blocked by Albania, Britain, Russia and the United Arab Emirates.
Deputy Permanent Representative of Russia to theHIM, Dmitry Polyansky, clarified shortly after that Moscow opposed such a document because its French authors had rejected the amendments proposed by the Russian side. He said the proposed changes underline the importance of the Russian-brokered Armenian-Azerbaijani agreements and the Russian military presence in Karabakh.
« Russia was ready to work constructively [sur la déclaration]but France resorted to unscrupulous methods Mr. Polyansky said in a social media post.
In a clear nod to Moscow, the Armenian Foreign Ministry hailed French diplomatic efforts inHIM.
Reprinted with permission from RFE/RL Copyright(c)2007 Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, Inc.1201 Connecticut Ave, t N.W. Washington DC 200