Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian has warned Azerbaijan against what he called "nullifying a historic opportunity for peace" between the two South Caucasus neighbors, calling for the lifting of a de facto blockade of Azerbaijan's mostly Armenian-populated breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Both Armenia and separatist authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh have said that Azerbaijan has blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh since December 2022, resulting in shortages of food, medicines, and energy.
Tensions escalated further after Azerbaijan in June tightened its blockade at a checkpoint installed in April on the road known as the Lachin Corridor, the only link between Armenia and the breakaway region, claiming that "various types of contraband" had been discovered in the Red Cross vehicles coming from Armenia.
Referring to the blockade, Pashinian said on August 11 that banning the delivery of humanitarian aid amounted to "genocide."
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has insisted that it can only allow supplies to reach Nagorno-Karabakh over a road from Agdam, the administrative center of Azerbaijan's Agdam district, one of seven districts adjacent to the breakaway region that Baku managed to take back under its control along with chunks of Nagorno-Karabakh in November 2020 after a 44-day war.
However, Nagorno-Karabakh's separatist government has rejected that offer, saying Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor is a violation of the Moscow-brokered 2020 cease-fire agreement that placed the 5-kilometer-wide strip of land under the control of Russian peacekeepers.
"The best solution to the current situation is the removal of Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the start of a dialogue between Stepanakert and Baku within the framework of an international mechanism," Pashinian said, adding that Yerevan "continues to reaffirm its commitment to the peace agenda and calls on official Baku to refrain from steps nullifying a historic opportunity for establishing peace."
SEE ALSO: With Tightening Of Blockade, Azerbaijan Presents Karabakh Armenians With A Choice: Surrender Or StarveA group of UN experts issued a statement on August 7, expressing alarm over the ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan, which they said had led to a dire humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"By lifting the blockade, the [Azerbaijani] authorities can alleviate the suffering of thousands of people in Nagorno-Karabakh and allow for the unimpeded flow of humanitarian assistance to the civilian population," the experts said. "It is essential to ensure the safety, dignity, and well-being of all individuals during this critical time."