The head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has called for the reopening of the Lachin Corridor, the only route linking Armenia with Nagorno-Karabakh, which has been blocked by Azerbaijan for more than seven months, warning that the humanitarian situation in the breakaway region is "very troubling."
Samantha Power's call came as a convoy of 19 Armenian trucks carrying emergency food aid to Nagorno-Karabakh has been blocked for almost a week at an Azerbaijan checkpoint, where it has been waiting for approval to access the Lachin Corridor.
"Food insecurity & shortages of medical supplies in Nagorno-Karabakh are very troubling. The Lachin corridor is critical for getting lifesaving supplies to the people of N[agorno]K[arabakh]," Powell wrote on Twitter.
Both Armenia and separatist authorities in the enclave have said that Azerbaijan has blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh since December, resulting in shortages of food, medicines, and energy.
Tensions escalated after Azerbaijan last month suspended traffic through a checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor pending an investigation after it said "various types of contraband" had been discovered in Red Cross vehicles coming from Armenia.
The suspension of traffic heightened concerns over a humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh.
Last week, the Armenian government said it would try to send 360 tons of flour, cooking oil, sugar, and other basic foodstuffs to Nagorno-Karabakh to alleviate severe food shortages there caused by the blockade.
But Azerbaijan refused to allow the convoy through the checkpoint, while Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahan Kostanian vowed that the vehicles will continue to stay there "as long as necessary."
Nagorno-Karabakh Crisis: Last-Ditch Armenian Aid Effort Blocked By Azerbaijan
Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev "to express our deep concern for the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh."
"I join Secretary Blinken's call for the free transit of commercial & humanitarian supplies through the [Lachin] Corridor," Powers wrote on July 31.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have fought two wars over Nagorno-Karabakh, a predominantly Armenian-populated mountainous enclave that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The most recent war lasted six weeks in late 2020 and left 7,000 soldiers dead on both sides.
As a result of the war, Azerbaijan regained control over a part of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts. The war ended with a Russian-brokered cease-fire under which Moscow deployed about 2,000 troops to serve as peacekeepers.