YEREVAN, January 13. /TASS/. Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan called on G20 countries to put pressure on Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin corridor at the Voice of Global South virtual summit, the Armenian Foreign Ministry’s press service said on Friday.
"Azerbaijan's ongoing provocations and aggressive actions show that the lack of proper accountability mechanisms only prompts Azerbaijan to question the international community's resolve and willingness to act. At the moment, our international partners, including members of the G20, need to put firm pressure on Azerbaijan to end its inhumane blockade of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and make Azerbaijan return to the negotiating table," he said.
According to Mirzoyan, "Armenia considers it necessary to send an international fact-finding mission to Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin corridor to assess the humanitarian situation in the field, as well as to ensure unhindered humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh for relevant UN bodies."
On December 12, 2022, a group of Azerbaijanis, who claimed they were environmentalists, blocked the Lachin corridor, where the Russian peacekeeping contingent was temporarily stationed. Baku argued that the purpose of the protest action was not to block any road, and that civilian vehicles were free to move in both directions.
Yerevan viewed the move as a provocation by Baku aimed at creating a humanitarian disaster in the unrecognized republic. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan told a government meeting that Nagorno-Karabakh was experiencing a food shortage amid the blocking of the corridor. On December 14, 2022, Armenia demanded that the European Human Rights Court oblige Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin corridor.