Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said on Thursday (December 22) that the breakaway territory of Nagorno-Karabakh is running short of food due a blockade that has gone on for two weeks. Armenian PM blamed Azerbaijan.
Pashinyan also lashed out at Russian peacekeeping forces for failing to keep open the Lachin corridor. It is the road route across Azerbaijan that links Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh.
Nagoro-Karabakh is internationally recognised to be part of Azerbaijan but residents of the region are predominantly Armenian. The region broke away after a war in early 1990.
In 2020, Azerbaijan retook territory in and around Nagorno-Karabakh after a short war that ended in a Russian-brokered ceasefire.
Pashinyan told his Cabinet the humanitarian situation in the enclave was “extremely tense as a result of the illegal blockade by Azerbaijan of the Lachin corridor”.
He said he had proposed terms to Azerbaijan for lifting the blockade of the route, where Russian peacekeepers have been confronted by a crowd of Azerbaijanis describing themselves as environmental activists.
Azerbaijan says they are involved in a genuine protest against illegal Armenian mining in Nagorno-Karabakh and it was the Russian peacekeepers who closed the road.
Pashinyan said the peacekeepers were not fulfilling their function, which he said was “precisely to prevent such illegal actions and, in particular, to keep the Lachin corridor under control”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian peacekeepers, deployed after the last war in 2020, were working to ensure peace and order, in accordance with their mandate.
(With inputs from agencies)
You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.
