Azerbaijani Checkpoint to the Lachin Corridor at the Hakari Bridge, viewed from Kornidzor, Republic of Armenia – Elisa von Joeden-Forgey/ CC BY-SA 4.0
Just two weeks after the 15 July EU-facilitated meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels, Yerevan and Baku find themselves once again in a standoff on the Lachin Corridor, the 5 km-wide highway that connects Armenia through Azerbaijan with the besieged former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO).
Just two weeks after the 15 July EU-facilitated meeting between Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Brussels, Yerevan and Baku find themselves once again in a standoff on the Lachin Corridor, the 5 km-wide highway that connects Armenia through Azerbaijan with the besieged former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO).
Since 12 December last year, the mainly ethnic Armenian-populated breakaway region has had this strategic artery through Lachin disrupted and restricted by Baku in continued attempts by Azerbaijan to have its territorial integrity not only restored but also recognised by both Yerevan and Karabakh’s de facto capital, Stepanakert. While Prime Minister Pashinyan says he is ready to do this, Karabakh’s de facto leadership continues to resist.
Another sticking point has been the insistence of Yerevan, Brussels, Washington D.C., and now Moscow that the ethnic Armenian community of Karabakh and official Baku need to engage in direct dialogue. Stepanakert continues to refuse to do so while so far unconfirmed reports indicate that on 30 July Baku rejected another planned meeting apparently scheduled for 1 August.
As a result, the imposition of an Azerbaijani border and customs checkpoint at the beginning of the Lachin highway has led to severe shortages of many imported food, hygiene, and fuel products. Meanwhile, the periodic halting of humanitarian aid convoys delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and Russian peacekeeping contingent have also resulted in severe shortages of medical supplies.
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