Russia Concerned By Blocking Of Route From Armenia To Nagorno-Karabakh
According to RFE/RL, Tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan escalated further on December 15 over the blockage by groups of protesters of the Lachin Corridor, which links Armenia to the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The route is the only land connection across Azerbaijani territory between Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and shops and businesses in Yerevan and Stepanakert are beginning to feel the effects after four days without deliveries.
Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of dispatching the protesters in an attempt to block Armenia's access to the region. Baku denies this.
A video recorded on December 15 showed crowds of people, many carrying Azerbaijani flags, blocking the road in a peaceful standoff with Russian troops who belong to a 5,000-strong mission deployed to the region after Armenia and Azerbaijan fought a war in 2020.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova expressed Moscow's concern over the situation and said it expected the route to be cleared soon.
"Russia's Defense Ministry and the Russian peacekeeping contingent have been actively working to de-escalate the situation and we expect full transport links to be restored in the very near future," Zakharova told reporters.
Armenian Prime Minister NikolPashinian said the closure of the corridor was a "gross violation" of the 2020 peace agreement and the population of the enclave had been made into hostages.
Fuel was in short supply in Nagorno-Karabakh, and local residents reportedly stocked up on basic foodstuffs and drugs on December 15, the fourth day of the road's closure.
Karabakh imports items such as cooking oil, dairy products, rice, and virtually all medicines. These and other imports ground to a halt on December 12 after the Azerbaijanis, posing as environmental activists, blocked the corridor, making ecology-related demands.
According to Azerbaijani media, the protesters’ new demand is that Baku establish control over the Lachin Corridor.
People in Nagorno-Karabakh, speaking on local television, said they believed the road would reopen, noting that they had been in similar situations before and had survived.
Meanwhile, some shopkeepers in Stepanakert said that they were running out of key groceries because of panic buying. People who have been prescribed medicine for blood pressure or diabetes are running out of them, said GayaneBalayan, a pharmacy worker.
Reports from Stepanakert suggest that there has been a significant increase in prices for essential goods that are available.
Firewood first became expensive in Stepanakert, then it was no longer available to buy, said AnahitStepanian, a mother of seven from Stepanakert.
