It also appeared to link the worsening plight of the Karabakh Armenians to Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian’s decision to recognize Karabakh as part of Azerbaijan.
“The humanitarian crisis in that territory is deepening,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “The local population is experiencing an acute shortage of food, medicine, basic necessities, and is practically deprived of electricity and gas supply. This may entail the most dramatic consequences for the Karabakh Armenians - ordinary residents of the region.
“We strongly urge the Azerbaijani leadership to take urgent measures for the immediate unblocking the Lachin corridor and the resumption of unhindered movement of citizens, vehicles and goods in both directions along it as well as energy supply to the region.”
The statement came one month after Baku further tightened the blockade by banning Russian peacekeepers from shipping limited amounts of food, medicine and fuel to Karabakh. This aggravated the shortages of essential items there.
Thousands of Karabakh Armenians attended on Friday a demonstration organized by the authorities in Stepanakert in protest against the blockade. Speaking at the rally, Karabakh leaders demanded that Russia and its peacekeeping contingent unblock the Lachin corridor.
The Armenian government has repeatedly criticized the peacekeepers for not ensuring Baku’s compliance with the 2020 ceasefire agreement which was brokered by Moscow and placed the corridor under their control.
In a clear response to that criticism, the Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian recognized Azerbaijani sovereignty over Karabakh during his October 2022 and May 2023 meetings with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev mediated by the European Union.
“While we respect the sovereign decision of the Armenian leadership, this radically changed the underlying conditions in which the Statement of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia of November 9, 2020 was signed as well as the position of the Russian peacekeeping contingent deployed in the region,” read its statement. “We believe that in these conditions, responsibility for the fate of the Armenian population of Karabakh should not be shifted to third countries.”
The Armenian opposition has likewise said that Pashinian’s decision to agree to the restoration of Azerbaijani control over Karabakh emboldened Baku to tighten the screws on the Karabakh Armenians. Not surprisingly, some opposition leaders seized upon the Russian Foreign Ministry statement to again attack the prime minister.
In a Facebook post, Andranik Tevanian, a lawmaker representing the main opposition Hayastan alliance, said Moscow made clear that “the siege of Artsakh is a consequence of the decision made by Nikol Pashinian in Prague in 2022.”
“Simply put, the Russian side is saying that ‘if the Armenian government has surrendered Artsakh, what do you want from us?’” wrote Tigran Abrahamian of the Pativ Unem bloc. “It is hinting that their rules of the game did not presuppose Azerbaijanization of Artsakh.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry also stated on Saturday that a peace treaty currently discussed by Baku and Yerevan must contain “reliable and clear guarantees of the rights and security of the Armenians of Karabakh.”
Moscow has been very critical of the EU and U.S. efforts to broker an Armenian-Azerbaijani peace accord, saying that they are ultimately aimed at driving Russia out of the South Caucasus. The Western powers have denied that.