MOSCOW: Russia on Friday asked Azerbaijan to unclog access to Nagorno-Karabakh as worry grows over a deepening humanitarian crisis in the region, AFP reported. Inhabitants of Karabakh reported shortages of food and medicine following the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Baku had blocked access for convoys providing assistance and aid to the Armenian-populated area last week.
Russia Asks Azerbaijan to Clear Access to Karabakh
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that they called on Azerbaijan to completely clear traffic along the Lachin corridor. Maria Zakharova said Azerbaijan’s move dishonored Russia-mediated deals between Azerbaijan and Armenia over the disputed region and intensified tensions. Russia also asked Armenia to take part in the trilateral dialogue. Karabakh has been at the center of a decades-long territorial issue between the Caucasus enemies.
The corridor has been hit by a humanitarian crisis since December, when activists of Azerbaijan blocked a key route to protest illegal mining in the region.
Azerbaijan said that civilian transport and aid convoys could go via the Lachin corridor unhindered.
However, the Armenian branch of the Red Cross told the media that it could no longer bring humanitarian aid to the disputed area, including medicines. Azerbaijan and Armenia fought two wars for control of Karabakh, in the 1990s and again in 2020, when thousands were killed in several days of fighting.
The violence ended with a Moscow-backed truce that saw Armenia cede swathes of territories it had controlled for several decades. Under the truce deal, Azerbaijan must assurance safe passage through the corridor. Armenia has repeatedly accused Russian peacekeepers of failing to protect ethnic Armenians living in the breakaway region.
