Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry has criticized Moscow, saying it "did not ensure full implementation" of an agreement that instituted a cease-fire between Azerbaijan and neighboring Armenia in September 2020.
In a statement on July 17, the ministry added that Moscow "did nothing" to stop Armenia from sending military supplies to Yerevan-backed separatists in Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh.
The statement came one day after Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev met in Brussels with Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian for EU-sponsored talks aimed at ending the decades-old conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. It was the sixth meeting between the two men over the last two years.
The meeting was hosted by European Council President Charles Michel, who issued a statement following the meeting describing the talks as "frank, honest, and substantive."
Michel called for an end to "violence and harsh rhetoric" and said he had extended an invitation to both leaders "for another meeting in Brussels after the summer."
The long-simmering conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh led to a six-week war in 2020 in which nearly 7,000 soldiers were killed on both sides. The fighting resulted in Armenia and ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh losing control over parts of the region and seven adjacent districts.
Under the Moscow-brokered cease-fire, Russia deployed peacekeepers to the 5-kilometer-wide Lachin Corridor, the only land link between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
However, Baku recently closed the corridor, provoking fears of a humanitarian crisis with Armenia warning of food shortages in the region.
Azerbaijan said it took the step after "various types of contraband" were allegedly found in Red Cross vehicles traveling from Armenia. The Red Cross issued a statement saying that four hired drivers had, without the organization's knowledge, tried to transport commercial goods into Nagorno-Karabakh in their own vehicles bearing the emblem of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The men were fired, the ICRC said.
Thousands of people on July 14 took to the streets in Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh, to protest the blockade.
Despite the blockade, de facto Nagorno-Karabakh health officials said 11 patients in serious condition had been evacuated to Armenia by the Red Cross through the Lachin Corridor.