Pashinian claimed at the same time that Baku is trying to not only depopulate Karabakh but also provoke a “new war in the region.”
“According to our information, Baku's plan is to bring the economic and psychological pressure on Nagorno-Karabakh to a certain climax, then open the corridor for a few days in the expectation that Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians will leave their homes en masse, close the corridor again, then open it again for several days, and so on until the last Armenian leaves Nagorno-Karabakh,” he said during a weekly session of his cabinet.
“But deporting the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh from their homes is not Azerbaijan’s only goal,” he went on. “With these provocative actions, Azerbaijan also aims to disrupt the peace agenda, the peace negotiation process and trigger a new war in the region.”
“It is clear, of course, that we all are very emotional about the closure of the Lachin corridor and the humanitarian crisis created in Nagorno-Karabakh. But I must once again emphasize the need for restraint in this situation and excluding language and actions contradicting the peace agenda, especially by representatives of state authorities,” Pashinian said, adding that he will continue to further that agenda.
Pashinian already urged Karabakh Armenian leaders earlier this month to tone down their rhetoric and negotiate with Baku in order to get the latter to unblock the sole road connecting the region to Armenia. He did so the day after Karabakh’s government and main political factions criticized his statements on the conflict with Azerbaijan and, saying that they undermine the Karabakh Armenians’ right to self-determination.
That was followed by reports that the Armenian government is seeking the ouster of Ruben Vardanyan, the Karabakh premier, because of his defiant stance against Baku. Vardanyan ruled out his resignation afterwards.
In an interview with BBC aired earlier this week, Vardanyan insisted that the Karabakh Armenians will never agree to live under Azerbaijani rule despite severe hardship endured by them because of the blockade.
“We have to go through these ordeals for the sake of keeping Artsakh Armenian and for the protection of the right to live on our land in dignity,” he said on Thursday while visiting Karabakh’s eastern Askeran district.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev again defended Azerbaijani government-backed protesters who blocked the Lachin corridor on December 12 to demand that Baku be given access to “illegal” copper mines in Karabakh. He claimed that they have not impeded humanitarian traffic through the road.
The United States, the European Union and Russia have repeatedly urged Baku to reopen the corridor. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken telephoned Aliyev for that purpose on Monday.