The ethnic Armenian enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan has been sealed off from the outside world for a month now, with Azerbaijani activists blocking the only access road from Armenia. Thousands of people are deprived of food, medicine and fuel and geopolitical interests in Russian gas play a secondary role.
Nagorno-Karabakh is a predominantly ethnic Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan that has been claimed by both Caucasus states since the breakup of the Soviet Union and has been the subject of several wars, most recently in 2020. A peacekeeping force controls the stocks and monitors the corridor that the state connects with Armenia and the outside world, the Lachin corridor.
Azerbaijan-backed protesters have been blocking this road for a month now. While Azerbaijan says the protests are spontaneous, Armenia says the Aliev government in Baku orchestrated them. As a result, ethnic Armenians in the enclave are deprived of food, medicine and fuel, so much so that some Armenian sources refer to it as ethnic cleansing.
Armenia warns of impending famine in a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Protesters are demanding that Azerbaijani environmental officials be allowed to visit mines in Karabakh, where they say Azerbaijani resources are being extracted illegally.
Geopolitics
However, Azerbaijan has other reasons, writes The Economist. And in so doing it benefits from the geopolitical wind that is now blowing. Russia is the major regional power and traditionally patron of Armenia, while Turkey supports Azerbaijan. As Russia sinks deeper and deeper into the Ukrainian quagmire, Azerbaijan is undeniably moving into the western camp. Azerbaijan is a major energy producer, Europe is also trying to become less dependent on Russian gas through Azerbaijan.
Although the Armenian prime minister has sharp criticism of the Russians, the de facto ruler of Nagorno-Karabakh Ruben Vardanyananont is far from criticizing the Kremlin. Not entirely illogical, this Russian-Armenian billionaire was an adviser to Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Russia’s foreign ministry warns against “public attacks” on its peacekeepers. According to the ministry, Pashinyan’s criticisms risk causing “tangible damage to the Armenian-Azerbaijani normalization process”.
Silent witness
According to Prime Minister Pashinyan, Russian peacekeepers are “a silent witness (…) of the depopulation of Nagorno-Karabakh”, “Russian peacekeepers are doing everything possible to improve the situation on the ground”, says the Russian Foreign Ministry. Pashinyan says if Russian troops fail to bring stability and security to the disputed region, they should give way to a UN peacekeeping mission.
Eastern European expert Bob Deen of the Clingendael Institute says there are three possible reasons why Russia is failing to keep the corridor open: Russia has withdrawn its best troops to fight in Ukraine, Russia has influenced the Azerbaijan must surrender, and Russia may want to put pressure on Armenia.
Although Armenia is part of the CSTO, a Russian-led military alliance, Russia has not come to Armenia’s aid in recent years as the conflict with Azerbaijan flared. To the Kremlin’s horror, Armenia is therefore turning more to the West.
Source: BNR
Sharon Rock is an author and journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. She has a passion for learning about different cultures and understanding the complexities of the world. With a talent for explaining complex global issues in an accessible and engaging way, Sharon has become a respected voice in the field of world news journalism.
