France said it was “deeply concerned” by Azerbaijan’s blocking of the Lachin corridor, during a telephone conversation on Tuesday between Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and her Armenian counterpart Ararat Mirzoïan. This conversation took place the day before the meeting of the United Nations Security Council “about the very serious humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh resulting from the blocking of the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan”, according to a press release from the Quai d ‘Orsay.
Armenia had called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council on Saturday in the face of the “deterioration of the humanitarian situation” in Nagorno-Karabakh, an enclave facing a blockade by Azerbaijan for months. Catherine Colonna deplored “this persistent blockage by Azerbaijan, which contravenes the commitments made under the ceasefire agreements and is detrimental to the negotiation process”.
She stressed that the outstanding issues “can only be resolved through negotiation to achieve a just and lasting peace” and reiterated her call for the restoration of the free movement of goods, people and goods along the corridor. of Lachin, in both directions, and a continuous supply of gas and electricity to the population. Russia also called on Azerbaijan on Tuesday to unblock this road linking Armenia to the enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region between Baku and Yerevan.
The Lachin corridor, the only land link between Armenia and Karabakh, was initially blocked by Azerbaijanis posing as environmental protesters, before Baku set up a roadblock at the entrance to this road, citing security reasons. Since then, Azerbaijan has closed traffic on this corridor under various pretexts.
During their meeting, the two ministers also discussed the shootings that occurred Tuesday at the Armenian border during a patrol of the EU observation mission (EUMA). The Minister expressed her concern at these incidents and gave her full support to the European mission, the statement said.
The two Caucasian countries have been fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh since the late 1980s, resulting in two wars, the last of which, in 2020, saw the defeat of Armenian forces and significant territorial gains for Azerbaijan. This mountainous territory is mainly populated by Armenians but recognized internationally as part of Azerbaijan.
