Armenia urges Putin to take 'necessary' action over Nagorno-Karabakh blockade
Since mid-December, a group of Azerbaijanis has been blocking the only road into Karabakh from Armenia to protest what they claim is illegal mining causing environmental damage
Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) greets Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan ahead of an informal meeting of the heads of state of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) at the Boris Yeltsin Presidential Library in Saint Petersburg on December 26, 2022. (Photo by Alexey DANICHEV / SPUTNIK / AFP)
Yerevan: Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Tuesday urged Russian leader Vladimir Putin to take “necessary” steps to help open a key corridor to Nagorno-Karabakh.
Since mid-December, a group of Azerbaijanis has been blocking the only road into Karabakh from Armenia to protest what they claim is illegal mining causing environmental damage.
As a result, the mountainous region of some 120,000 people has been running short of food, medicines and fuel.
Armenia has repeatedly voiced dismay at what it sees as Moscow’s unwillingness to put an end to a “humanitarian crisis”.
During phone talks with Putin on Tuesday, the Armenian leader “stressed the importance of Russia taking the necessary steps” to overcome the crisis, his office said without being more specific.
“In this context, the activities of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Nagorno-Karabakh were discussed,” Pashinyan’s office said in a statement.
The Kremlin, in a terse statement, said the two leaders discussed the current situation, stressing the importance of implementing all Russia-mediated agreements.
Moscow seeks to maintain its role as a powerbroker between the ex-Soviet republics despite being bogged down in its offensive in pro-Western Ukraine.
The Kremlin seeks to maintain a delicate balancing act in the South Caucasus where it wants to have good relations not only with its traditional ally Armenia but also Azerbaijan and its backer Turkey.
Armenia has accused arch-foe Azerbaijan of conducting a “policy of ethnic cleansing” and forcing ethnic Armenians to leave the breakaway region.
Azerbaijan rejects the accusations it has orchestrated the blockade, insisting civilian transport and goods can move freely to and out of the region.
When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, ethnic Armenian separatists in Karabakh broke away from Azerbaijan. The ensuing conflict claimed around 30,000 lives.
Another flare-up in violence in 2020 claimed more than 6,500 lives and ended with a Russian-brokered truce that saw Armenia cede territories it had controlled for decades.
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