Roadblock cuts off food, fuel and medicine for thousands - openDemocracy

The lone roadworthy that links Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia has been blocked since 12 December – by workers from Azerbaijani authorities organisations.

The protesters person said they are objecting to Russian peacekeepers stationed successful the disputed territory, who they assertion are covering up amerciable mining connected onshore that formally belongs to Azerbaijan.

They person acceptable up tents and refused to permission the roadworthy – known arsenic the Lachin corridor – for the past 4 days. They included civilian servants, workers from adjacent operation sites and representatives of pro-government NGOs, but besides erstwhile soldiers – 1 of whom was photographed making a well-known motion of the Gray Wolves, a notorious Turkish far-right group.

By blocking the road, they person threatened the tens of thousands of taste Armenians who unrecorded successful Nagorno-Karabakh with a humanitarian catastrophe, Armenian representatives say.

In the aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War successful 2020, successful which Azerbaijan successfully regained power of portion of Karabakh and adjacent districts antecedently held by Armenia, blocking the lone roadworthy linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia seems to beryllium an effort to seal disconnected its colonisation from the extracurricular satellite – and pave the mode for taking afloat power of the region. (The First Nagorno-Karabakh War was successful the 1990s.)

Numerous attacks since 2020 against Armenian-inhabited areas of Karabakh (a landlocked portion wrong the Karabakh mountainous range, which is often called Nagorno-Karabakh, oregon simply Karabakh. In this portion I person utilized the 2 presumption interchangeably), arsenic good arsenic against Armenia itself, person signalled Azerbaijan’s intent to unit a colony connected the territory. They person besides shown that determination are fewer forms of planetary unit disposable against the resource-rich country, which is backed by Turkey.

Russian peacekeepers – who are meant to warrant entree to the now-blocked roadworthy – person been stationed successful the portion since 2020, and Russia is the guarantor of a ceasefire woody that has been breached galore times.

The European Union, meanwhile, has signed billions of dollars’ worthy of state and concern deals with Azerbaijan since Russia invaded Ukraine successful February.

Blockade

The blockade is already affecting Armenians surviving successful Nagorno-Karabakh. They person mislaid regular supplies of food, substance and medicine.

Gas is supplied to the portion done a pipeline from Armenia. On the evening of 13 December, it was reported that it, too, had been chopped disconnected – perchance arsenic a effect of a valve allegedly installed by Azerbaijan during repairs earlier successful the twelvemonth – but, aft 3 days, reports emerged that it had been reconnected.

The Russian Defence Ministry claims it is negotiating with protesters to unblock the road, but to day the commandant of the Russian peacekeepers has refused to conscionable with the Azerbaijani “eco-activists”. The Kremlin has not commented connected the situation, though the Russian and Azerbaijani presidents person been successful touch.

Both the US State Department and the European Union person expressed interest astir the “humanitarian crisis” and called connected Azerbaijan to unblock the road.

Azerbaijan wants bid connected its ain terms

The Second Karabakh War ended overnight connected 10 November 2020 with the signing of a trilateral (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia) statement – but it has mostly been followed with much chaos and violence.

That statement recognised Baku’s power implicit territories it had taken by unit wrong Nagorno-Karabakh, but returned power implicit territories that bordered Nagorno-Karabakh.

In enactment with that document, Russian peacekeepers were brought into Karabakh itself to power the enactment separating the Armenians of Karabakh from Azerbaijani troops, arsenic good arsenic the Lachin corridor itself.

The trilateral statement obliges Azerbaijan and Armenia to ‘unblock communications’ – roads, transport and infrastructure connections – and guarantee each different escaped question of goods crossed the countries.

But Armenia and Azerbaijan bash not hold connected what ‘unblocking’ means.

Baku believes that the ‘unblocking of communications’ should mean it takes power of a roadworthy moving done the Armenian portion of Syunik to the Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic – an exclave separated from the main territory of Azerbaijan.

And Aliyev has accompanied his demands for this ‘Zangezur corridor’ – Zangezur being the Azerbaijani sanction for Syunik – with threats.

“We are implementing the Zangezur corridor, whether Armenia wants it oregon not,” Aliyev said successful 2021. “If [Armenia] wants to, past it volition beryllium easier. If [Armenia] does not privation to, we volition determine by force.”

This plan, however, would sever a confederate portion of Armenia – and with it, its entree to Iran. Baku’s tendency to power the ‘Zangezur corridor’ is astir often cited arsenic the origin of borderline conflicts.

Aliyev has besides enactment unit connected Armenia during negotiations to motion a bid treaty. For 1 thing, this would necessitate the parties to recognise each other’s territorial integrity. It means Armenia yet abandoning Karabakh, which would go portion of Azerbaijan without the close to a peculiar status.

Armenian premier curate Nikol Pashinyan, pursuing warring connected the borderline successful September 2022, expressed his readiness to conscionable Baku’s demands. The unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh republic, Pashinyan said, could negociate with the Azerbaijani authorities connected its presumption directly. Aliyev, however, categorically refuses to speech with representatives of the de facto authorities of Karabakh, holding up the deal.

What’s more, successful Nagorno-Karabakh itself, Armenians bash not privation to beryllium portion of Azerbaijan. The section authorities and radical are acrophobic of revenge by the Azerbaijanis for warfare crimes that the parties committed against each different during the 2 past wars for Karabakh.

Lack of planetary support

Unlike the Russian-Ukrainian war, the planetary assemblage is not rushing to straight enactment 1 broadside oregon different successful the conflict. The objection present is Turkey, which supplies Azerbaijan with weapons, grooming its service and striking lucrative contracts with Aliyev. On 10 December, a Turkish wide adjacent became an adviser to Azerbaijan’s defence minister.

During the Second Karabakh War, Ankara is reported to person sent mercenaries to Azerbaijan recruited from Turkish-controlled Islamist groups successful Syria, though Turkey and Azerbaijan contradict this. Either way, the 2 countries are actively moving to restore diplomatic relations severed during the First Karabakh War.

Meanwhile, the European Union is presently attempting to enactment arsenic a level for negotiations – though it has besides struck a important state woody with Azerbaijan. The caput of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, called Aliyev ‘a reliable spouse of Europe’ during a sojourn to Baku to motion the declaration earlier this year.

The leaders of Azerbaijan and Armenia person been gathering successful Brussels, mediated by the caput of the European Council, Charles Michel. These encounters person led to enactment connected a bid pact betwixt the 2 opposing countries. The lone effect was the designation by the 2 countries of each other’s territorial integrity, but it is inactive acold from immoderate important effect arsenic some parties person imposed further conditions connected each other. The EU besides sent a civilian radical of observers to the borderline betwixt Armenia and Azerbaijan, though its enactment volition soon extremity – and Armenia fears that this volition pb to caller aggression from Baku.

Before and during the 2020 war, the West avoided taking sides owed to the relation of the Organization for Security and Co-operation successful Europe’s (OSCE) Minsk Group – the United States, France and Russia – which was meant to steer the dialog process implicit the aboriginal of Nagorno-Karabakh. But galore years of attempts astatine a diplomatic colony did not carnivore fruit, and aft the war, Baku stated that the OSCE Minsk Group could nary longer woody with the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict.

The Kremlin is painfully alert that the EU is removing Moscow’s monopoly connected planetary negotiations and mediation connected the Armenian-Azerbaijani struggle – a relation played by Russia previously.

Russia’s weakened presumption was further exposed by Azerbaijan’s September violative against Armenia directly, erstwhile the second asked for assistance from Russia via the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), of which Armenia is simply a member. According to 1 of the clauses of the agreement, the bloc is obliged to supply subject assistance if 1 of its subordinate countries is attacked. Yet the CSTO refused to supply subject assistance, oregon to telephone Azerbaijan an aggressor.

What we’re looking astatine is simply a cleanable storm: with fewer forms of unit connected Azerbaijan, it volition proceed to property its vantage implicit Nagorno-Karabakh – and radical surviving successful the territory are going to endure tremendous hardship successful the process. Their aboriginal wrong Azerbaijan volition beryllium bleak.