Nagorno-Karabakh

🇦🇿🇦🇲🇷🇺 The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh

situation as of 18.00 December 14, 2022

The section of the highway between Stepanakert and Goris has been blocked for the third day. A protest rally began on the Republic Square in Yerevan due to the events on the Lachin road.

🔻Event digest:

▪️At night, in the zone of the incident, Azerbaijani activists continued to provoke Russian peacekeepers, urging them to leave the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

▪️The shortage of medicines and fuel has worsened in the settlements of Artsakh, and planned surgical operations have been postponed due to the shutdown of gas supply.

▪️Additional forces of peacekeepers arrived at the crossroads of the Lachin-Shusha-Khankendi road. Apparently, in the near future, ambulances with sick people will drive up to the road for their further departure to Armenia.

▪️Azerbaijani activists provided passage for supply vehicles of Russian peacekeepers transporting fuel to Nagorno-Karabakh.

▪️The Armenian Parliament held an extraordinary meeting on the issue of closing the Lachin corridor. Opposition parties refused to participate, explaining this by ignoring their proposals by representatives of the ruling party.

▪️In front of the building of the government of Armenia in Yerevan, an opposition "Republican Party" rally is taking place in support of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, demanding that measures be taken to unblock the Lachin corridor.

▪️President of the Republic of Artsakh Arayik Harutyunyan signed a decree on measures to be implemented under the conditions of martial law declared on the territory of the republic.

🔻Statements of representatives of the warring parties

▪️Secretary of the Armenian faction "Hayastan" Artsvik Minasyan condemned the agenda of the ruling party, pointing out the absence of the right of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to self-determination in it.

▪️Deputy from the Civil Contract party Vigen Khachatryan criticized Russia's actions in the incident, accusing the Russian side of wanting to drag Armenia into the war with Azerbaijan.

▪️Azerbaijan Foreign Ministry spokesman Aykhan Hajizade stated that the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh was exaggerated, noting the possibility of free movement in the protest zone.

🔻Reaction abroad

▪️Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov pointed to the possibility of a meeting of the heads of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia as part of an informal meeting of the CIS member states.

▪️EU representatives condemned the blocking of a section of the highway and called on Azerbaijan to ensure freedom and safety of movement along the highway.

The French Foreign Ministry called for the unconditional restoration of access to the Lachin corridor.

▪️The US State Department expressed concern about the severe humanitarian consequences due to the current crisis, pointing out the need to restore free movement along the corridor.

🔻Perspectives

The situation around Artsakh is still tense. The so-called "activists" are blocking the only road from Artsakh, and the gas supply has been stopped. The population of the republic is on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.

The Armenian government does not take any measures to resolve the conflict, the authorities routinely prepare for the Christmas and New Year holidays. Some politicians put the blame on Russia.

At the same time, the number of people in civilian clothes among the "striking" crowd decreased, and the number of military personnel increased. They are trying to provoke Russian peacekeepers into a conflict by waving the flags of Azerbaijan and Turkey and threatening "an early resolution of the Artsakh issue."

The protesters have posters in Russian, English and Azerbaijani, and various media broadcast online almost around the clock, expecting an escalation of tension.

The actions of the crowd are coordinated by several curators who use megaphones. And in the very mass of the protesters there are members of the Turkish nationalist movement Bozkurt.

The growing tension and the special involvement of both the military personnel of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and members of the nationalist movements indicate the upcoming escalation of the conflict. There are no prerequisites for resolving the situation yet.

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