The State Duma warned about the consequences of the military operation in the Lachin corridor

Decisive actions to unblock the Lachin corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh can lead to bloodshed, and statements by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the actual inaction of Russian peacekeepers do not make it easier for Moscow to resolve the crisis, Konstantin Zatulin, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, told Vedomosti (” United Russia”).

For the second time since the beginning of the month, Azerbaijanis blocked the Stepanakert-Goris highway in the Lachin corridor, the only transport artery connecting the unrecognized Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) and Armenia. According to the Azerbaijani side, the pretext for closing on December 12 was the need to check the cargo for the export of gold from mines actually controlled by the NKR.

“This action of Azerbaijan, of course, compromises Russia’s peacekeeping mission. But so far the mandate of the peacekeepers has not been agreed upon. They were introduced immediately. And the mandate was deliberately not agreed upon, mainly at the initiative of Azerbaijan. It is clear that decisive actions to unblock the Lachin corridor can lead to bloodshed, which we [Россия] want to avoid. We have a very difficult task, which Mr. Pashinyan does not facilitate in any way,” Zatulin said. In October, the Armenian authorities called his visit to the country is unwelcome.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan declared at a meeting of the government of the republic on December 22, that the Russian peacekeeping mission is not fulfilling its obligations in Nagorno-Karabakh. “Of course, this is due to the actions of Azerbaijan, but this does not change the meaning. This is the key meaning of the presence of Russian peacekeepers – not to allow illegal actions and keep the Lachin corridor under control, ”he said. By words Prime Minister, as a result of the “illegal blockade” by Azerbaijan, the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is extremely tense – there is a lack of a number of essential goods, including food.

“I can say the opposite – Russian peacekeepers are fulfilling their mission. <…> There have been several aggravations before, and there were problems, and the parties blamed each other, and the Russian peacekeepers did everything to stabilize the situation, and they succeeded, ”Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Vedomosti.

Presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov also commented on Pashinyan’s words on December 22. Russian peacekeepers are doing everything possible to ensure order in Nagorno-Karabakh, their actions are conditioned by the agreements of the parties, informed is he. “We will certainly continue to discuss this topic with our Armenian colleagues and allies,” Peskov said.

Pashinyan’s words, including about peacekeepers, should be taken “with a markdown”, Zatulin believes. Russian forces entered Nagorno-Karabakh to prevent hostilities. If they were not there, the current situation in the Lachin corridor would repeat what happened in September on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, where there were no Russian peacekeepers. “As a result of week-long battles, Azerbaijani troops advanced 8 km deep into Armenia,” he said.

The blockade of the Lachin corridor must be ended, Russia is counting on the resolution of the crisis “in the near future,” Zakharova said. It is also necessary to resolve differences over the development of ore deposits in the region. “The Russian Ministry of Defense and the command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent continue to work on descaling the situation. Thanks to their efforts, gas supply has been resumed, the movement of vehicles of humanitarian importance has been restored,” the representative of the Foreign Ministry said.

After Pashinyan’s speech on December 22, Yerevan refused take part in the meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan scheduled for December 23 in Moscow. And Secretary of the Security Council of the Republic Armen Grigoryan called on the UN, the OSCE and the OSCE Minsk Group to send a mission to the Lachin corridor.

Most Armenians consider Russia historically “their main and almost only ally,” Zatulin said. “Mr. Pashinin is now aiming to break this perception, and this course has been implemented by him since September of this year. [Он проявляет] desire to choose another negotiating mediation platform,” the deputy is sure.

November 23 Pashinyan refused sign the declaration of the CSTO Collective Security Council and the draft on joint measures to provide assistance to Yerevan. The prime minister cited the lack of a political assessment by the CSTO of Azerbaijan’s actions against the territorial integrity of Armenia as the reason for his step. He was referring to the incidents on the border of the two countries on May 11 and November 14, 2021, as well as on September 13, 2022, accompanied by casualties among the military personnel on both sides, as a result of which, according to Pashinyan, Azerbaijan “occupied” about 140 square meters. km of Armenian territory.