Azerbaijan Seeks to Entangle Armenia in Greater Provocation over Lachin Corridor, Says Prime Minister

The closure of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan is a provocation with two objectives: to break the will of the Artsakh Armenians to live in their homeland and to drag Armenia into a larger provocation. This statement was made today by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan during a press conference.

“The situation regarding the Lachin corridor is clearly written on paper. Therefore, our vision regarding Lachin is that internationally assumed obligations must be fulfilled. The position of Russia and the operations of the peacekeepers are crucial here. I have already stated that if it becomes clear that Russia cannot fulfill these obligations, it should appeal to the UN Security Council as a permanent member,” said Pashinyan.

Moreover, according to Pashinyan, there are several questions whose answers are crucial for the future. Specifically, the question of what Azerbaijan wants. He indicated that there is a view that Azerbaijan seeks to eliminate the Armenian state. The statements of those who hold this view, according to the Prime Minister, cannot be dismissed outright, as he observes the type of rhetoric being developed by Azerbaijan.

“However, there is also another question: why does Azerbaijan behave this way? There are individuals and experts who say that Azerbaijan believes Armenia and Armenians also want to eliminate Azerbaijan. In addition, Pashinyan points out that Azerbaijan continuously promotes hate speech, yet they also claim to see similar manifestations among us. Thus, the answers to these questions will determine the future,” he added.

It should be noted that on the morning of December 12, a group of Azerbaijani individuals in civilian clothing closed the Stepanakert-Goris highway, linking Artsakh to Armenia, under the pretext of environmental reasons. Starting from December 13, the Azerbaijani side also cut off gas supplies to Artsakh. On the morning of December 16, Artsakh’s State Minister Ruben Vardanyan announced that gas supplies to Artsakh had been restored without any preconditions. However, the Lachin corridor remains closed.