According to media reports, Baku closed the Lachin crossing since December 12, and during this time, 120,000 people in the region, 30,000 of whom are children, are in a humanitarian crisis. The official information center of Karabagh, describing the current situation in region, said that 1,100 people, including 270 children, are unable to return home due to road blockages, and more than 20 patients are in critical care units in hospitals and need urgent transfer to Armenia.
Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed concern about the continued blocking of the border crossing, saying that the people of Karabakh are stuck in the roads in the middle of cold. The Armenian-majority residents of this region are facing a shortage of gasoline, diesel and LPG and have to save fuel. Also, Azerbaijan cut off gas to this region for three days.
Although Baku has denied blocking this crossing, reports prove otherwise. Azerbaijan claims that the road blockers are environmental activists who are concerned about illegal gold mining in the region. Having in mind that Lachin is the only way to reach the Armenian-majority region, if it is closed for a long time, thousands of people will face massive crises. Yerevan authorities have said they are in contact with regional and international partners to reopen the crossing. Yerevan called this measure a form of ethnic cleansing by Baku, which may lead to the death of thousands of Armenians in Karabakh. This move is a violation of the Moscow-brokered peace agreements signed with Yerevan in November 2020. The government of Azerbaijan has repeatedly violated the agreements for various reasons over the past two years.
The closure of this border gate has drawn international reactions. The spokesman of the Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that the establishment of peace and stability in the region requires avoiding any unnecessary tensions, and expressed hope that the issue of unblocking the Lachin Corridor would be resolved quickly through dialogue and peaceful ways. The European Union also asked Azerbaijan officials to guarantee the security and freedom of movement throughout this crossing. The US emphasized that if access to food, medicine, and heat is not possible again, the lives of thousands of Armenians, especially children and the elderly, will be on the line. The UN secretary-general, China, and Russia have also asked Baku to guarantee the freedom of movement on Lachin Corridor.
What is Lachin crossing?
Lachin border crossing is a mountainous route that links Armenia to the exclave region of Karabakh. This crossing is part of Lachin region of Azerbaijan but according to the ceasefire agreement, it is under the control of the Russian peace-keeping mission. With Russia having removed its forces from the region after Ukraine war, the crossing and the corridor practically fall into the hands of Baku forces who are pressurizing the Armenians using this opportunity.
Lachin was the last of the three districts that Armenia returned to Azerbaijan as part of its commitments to the tripartite declaration. A larger part of it was returned to Azerbaijan in December 2020, except for the city of Lachin and the villages of Zabukh and Sus. According to the agreement, the Lachin Corridor, including the city of Lachin and two surrounding villages, remained in the temporary monitoring zone of the Russian peacekeeping forces stationed in certain areas of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Lachin and two surrounding villages were supposed to return to control of Azerbaijan after the new highway connecting the Armenians living in Karabakh to Armenia was launched.
Azerbaijan finished the construction work of the new route in August and finally put it into operation. After the launch of the new road in the same month, Azerbaijan regained control of the city of Lachin and two surrounding villages to finally restore its sovereignty over the entire Lachin. The new Lachin Corridor, parts of which crossed the territory of Armenia and even Iran, eventually reached Nakhchivan, but the Baku leaders were unhappy with this imposed route. About 12 kilometers of this corridor should have been built by the Armenian government and it would be completed by the end of 2022, but no effective construction work has been done so far— something arousing the ire of Azerbaijan leaders.
With the closure of the crossing, the Armenian-majority of Karabakh, called Artsakh by Armenia, would be fully encircled, and its communication with the world will be cut off, which means no aids could reach it. Its closure would endanger lives of thousands of Armenians and threats to their lives could mount if it remains closed due to its mountainous and frigid nature. Therefore, if Baku insists on continuing this situation, regional countries and extra-regional actors will inevitably step in to force Azerbaijan’s leaders to back down. So far, the international community has not been silent about this issue and the patrons of Armenia are trying to solve this crisis through diplomacy as soon as possible.
Avenging Zangezor project failure by Lachin closure
Lachin Corridor is somehow replacing Zangezor Corridor on whose construction Baku badly insisted but failed. Zangezor Corridor, on which Azerbaijan officials claim to have been in agreement with Armenia and Russia, was planned to connect Azerbaijan to the autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan; hence disconnecting Iran from Armenia. The corridor failed to see the light because of resolute opposition by Armenia, Iran, and to some extent Russia. Azerbaijan leaders are extremely infuriated to see their program failing. Iran has repeatedly warned it would not allow geopolitical changes on Caucasus borders, and this is motivating Azerbaijan to push for realization of their plans in association with Turkey.
Critics accuse Azerbaijan of inhumane actions to send messages to the Armenians living in Karabakh that staying in the region will cost them dearly and that it is better to leave this region as soon as possible. This action is aimed at gaining control of the remaining parts of Karabakh with the lowest costs. Azerbaijanis has always believed that Karabakh fully belongs to this country and should be returned to the mainland. Although nearly 70 percent of the disputed region was recaptured from Armenians in the 2020 war, a part of Karabakh is still held by Yerevan, and Baku is struggling to take back remaining areas in any way possible. Baku has never backed down from the construction of the Zangezor Corridor and with such measures, it intends to force Armenia to agree to the construction of Zangezor for the sake of security of lives of Armenians there.
Lachin closure can reignite war between the two neighbors and re-immerse Caucasus in crisis. This move is actually blocking the road to peace between the two countries. The international public opinion disapprove of punishing innocent civilians by Baku for the sake of its political goals. Therefore, Azerbaijan leaders would not secure their goals using this agenda and have to walk back from their plans at the end of the road.
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