Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian met with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna on April 27 in Yerevan after calling international attention to rising tensions with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh.
During the meeting between Pashinian and Colonna, the two leaders stressed the need for “the immediate implementation of the decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the need for Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin Corridor,” according to an Armenian government statement.
The Hague-based ICJ ruled in February, two months after Azerbaijani protesters blocked the road, that Azerbaijan must “take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.”
Earlier on April 27 during a government session, Pashinian accused Azerbaijan of provocation by installing a checkpoint in the Shushi region (Susa in Azeri), effectively cutting off four communities. Yerevan already blames Baku of inciting tensions with the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting the mostly Armenian-populated region with Armenia.
Azerbaijani Deputy Foreign Minister Elnur Mammadov has said the checkpoint was set up in response to "safety concerns in light of Armenia's continued misuse of the road for the transport of weapons and other illegal activities."
Baku says the blockade, which began on December 12, is the work of Azerbaijani "eco-activists" -- generally seen as acting at the behest of the government. Azerbaijani officials say that the road is open for humanitarian purposes, an assertion Yerevan bluntly rejects.
Pashinian accused Baku of not only increasing tensions in the region, but also blamed it for deepening a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"This should be the subject of attention of all of us, the international community," he said.
"Other than the Russian Federation, no one should control the Lachin Corridor," he added.
Colonna is on a regional tour including stops in Baku and Yerevan aimed at easing tensions in the South Caucasus.
She and Pashinian said during their meeting that “unilateral actions by Azerbaijan” were unacceptable, noting that Azerbaijani’s establishment of a checkpoint in the Lachin Corridor contradicted the Russia-brokered cease-fire agreement that put an end to a six-week Armenian-Azerbaijani war in 2020.
Under that deal Moscow deployed around 2,000 peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh and along the 5-kilometer-wide strip of land connecting the region with Armenia known as the Lachin Corridor. Yerevan and Stepanakert insist that there should be only Russian presence in the corridor under the terms of the cease-fire.
Pashinian and Colonna “also exchanged thoughts on issues related to the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan,” Pashinian's press office said.
While visiting Baku, Colonna stressed at a joint press conference with her Azerbaijani counterpart, Jeyhun Bayramov, that Azerbaijan must comply with the ICJ order regarding the Lachin Corridor.
Colonna, who also met with President Ilham Aliyev while in Baku, said that Azerbaijan should also take into account the positions of the United States and France regarding the matter. Both countries have expressed concerns that the checkpoint could further fuel tensions and undermine peace efforts between Yerevan and Baku.
Bayramov said Azerbaijan installed the checkpoint in accordance with its constitution after “Yerevan ignored Baku’s calls to stop illegal use of the road.”
He said the Lachin Corridor "is open and will remain open,” echoing his ministry’s earlier pledge that all “necessary conditions” will be created for “a transparent and orderly passage of Armenian residents living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan” in both directions.
Referring to peace negotiations with Armenia, Bayramov noted that no meetings have been held since November, but it is expected that Armenia will soon return to the negotiation table after numerous calls from international partners.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have clashed over Nagorno-Karabakh for decades. The mainly ethnic Armenian enclave is part of Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a separatist war there ended in 1994.