Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian on Tuesday deplored to Vladimir Putin the inability of the Russian soldiers deployed in Nagorny Karabakh to guarantee free movement in this region disputed by Yerevan and Baku.
Yerevan accuses Azerbaijani militants of blocking since mid-December a vital road that connects Armenia to territories controlled by Armenian separatists in Nagorny Karabakh, a mountainous region which seceded from Azerbaijan in the early 1990s and where residents say they now fear a humanitarian crisis.
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The blockade, implemented by a few dozen people posing as environmental activists, is taking place despite the presence of a Russian peacekeeping force deployed after a ceasefire agreement that ended a war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020.
The blocked route, the Lachin Corridor, "
should be under the control of Russian peacekeepers and the Republic of Azerbaijan has guaranteed the free movement of passengers and goods
" on this axis, Mr Pashinian said during a meeting. a meeting with Mr. Putin on the sidelines of a summit bringing together the leaders of countries from the Soviet bloc in Saint Petersburg, in northwestern Russia.
But “
it appears that the Lachin Corridor is not under the control of Russian peacekeepers.
And, of course, I would like to discuss this situation and the options that exist
, ”he added at the start of this interview broadcast on Russian television.
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For his part, Vladimir Putin promised Nikol Pashinian a "
detailed discussion
" about Nagorny Karabakh.
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was also present at the St. Petersburg summit, but no public meeting with Nikol Pashinian has been announced.
“
We managed to talk to all three of them
” on Monday, Vladimir Putin said, without however clearly indicating whether Nikol Pashinian and Ilham Aliyev had spoken directly or whether the Russian leader had separate discussions with each of them.
Armenia and Azerbaijan clashed in the early 1990s for control of Nagorny Karabakh, a war that claimed 30,000 lives and ended in an Armenian victory.
But Baku took its revenge during a second war which claimed the lives of 6,500 people in the fall of 2020 and allowed it to retake many territories.
Moscow considers the Caucasus as its backyard, but is monopolized by its offensive against Ukraine.