Expectations Regarding Russian Peacekeepers in Stepanakert Unfulfilled: Armenian Security Council Secretary

Expectations regarding Russian peacekeepers in Stepanakert are not being fulfilled. This was stated by the Secretary of the Armenian Security Council, Armen Grigoryan, in an interview with the Voice of America, emphasizing that the closure of the Lachin Corridor is a very serious issue.

Grigoryan underscored that the November 9, 2020, trilateral statement did not foresee any Azerbaijani presence in the Lachin Corridor, highlighting that it was the peacekeepers' responsibility to ensure free movement through the corridor. “Currently, there is no such movement, and our expectation is that the peacekeepers will fully carry out their mission so that the people living in Nagorno-Karabakh do not face such a humanitarian crisis, because the ongoing crisis is deepening,” said the Secretary of the Security Council. He added that recently the corridor has been completely closed, and there is not even movement of goods, complicating life in Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to Grigoryan, the expectation from the Russian peacekeepers is that such crises do not occur. “The main expectation is that peacekeepers can perform their functions within the framework of their mandate, that is, to ensure the safety of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh,” he stated.

Since yesterday, Azerbaijan has completely closed the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia, also blocking the movement of Red Cross vehicles transporting seriously ill patients from Stepanakert to Yerevan through the Hakari bridge. Baku justifies the closure by claiming that on July 1, 3, and 5, attempts were made to transport various goods to Nagorno-Karabakh through the Red Cross vehicles at the “Lachin” checkpoint in a smuggling manner.

Reports from Artsakh indicate that they have been under blockade for seven months, and although they had very limited opportunities for some shipments through the Russians, they had not had any supplies of goods until June 15 and could not objectively stockpile them. It has been almost a month since any type of food, fuel, or essential goods have entered Artsakh.