Great powers and Nagorno Karabakh

On the sidelines of the G20 meeting, the United States, Europe, Russia, and Turkey spoke on the increasingly critical situation over the closure of the Lačin corridor that has been isolating the Armenian enclave for months. Erdogan against the election of Samvel Šakhramanyan as president of the disputed region. Russian Minister Lavrov: "Don't shift responsibilities you don't want to take on Moscow."

Moscow (AsiaNews) - The issue of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, with the increasingly critical situation in Nagorno Karabakh due to the closure of the Lachin corridor, is increasingly worrying the world political establishments, already severely tested by Russian war in Ukraine. America, Europe, Russia and Turkey are trying to propose solutions to unblock the situation, with interests in very different games that are not easy to reconcile.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken spoke from the United States in recent days, recalling the loads of humanitarian aid left stuck on the roads of Lačin and Agdam, and appealing for the immediate opening of these transit routes, to help the entire population of the Nagorno Karabakh.

He also added that "we appeal to all the leaders of the countries concerned not to take any initiative that could lead to an escalation of tension, or hinder the achievement of the desired goals... the use of force to resolve these differences is not acceptable".

The United States intends to favor in every way the efforts to continue the dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan, "defending the rights and security of the inhabitants of Nagorno Karabakh", and seeking a way for a direct meeting between Baku and Stepanakert.

The fundamental condition remains "respect for mutual sovereignty and territorial integrity", concludes Blinken. Even the Foreign Minister of the European Union, Joseph Borrel, reiterated after a conversation with the Azerbaijani minister Džeikhun Bayramov that "the Lačin corridor must be reopened immediately, and the other routes are not alternatives, but supplementary to the main one".

Russia is trying to remember the priority of its mediation role in the Southern Caucasus by sending loads of humanitarian aid via the Agdam road. The Azerbaijan Red Crescent gave its support to this expedition, recalling that it is being carried out "within the framework of the memorandum of cooperation with the Russian Red Cross". The aid would have arrived in the city of Barda, waiting to begin distribution in agreement with the official representatives of Nagorno Karabakh. Other loads have been stopped previously, and await definitive release.

Turkish President Recep Tayyp Erdogan also spoke on the issue during the G20 in Delhi, declaring that he did not approve of Armenia's actions, and that he intended to discuss it by telephone as soon as possible with the Prime Minister of Yerevan, Nikol Pašinyan.

The Turks in particular did not consider the recent elections of institutional representatives in Nagorno Karabakh to be appropriate, with the nomination of Samvel Šakhramanyan as president of the region, which in their opinion make a dialogue with Baku almost impossible. In the last meeting on 28 June, Erdogan had insisted on the creation of a transit corridor also guaranteed for citizens of other states in the region.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, also at the G20 summit, also issued a rather resentful statement towards Armenian politicians, who on several occasions accused Moscow of having left Nagorno Karabakh in the hands of Azerbaijan .

“Nothing is more incorrect and dishonest than the statements of that one, I think the president of the Armenian parliament,” Lavrov said with a tone of contempt, recalling the importance of sticking to the trilateral agreements signed in November 2020 between Aliev and Pašinyan in Moscow , in the presence of Putin, where it was decided that "the definitive status of Nagorno Karabakh will be discussed once the necessary conditions of peace and security have been achieved". The Russian minister warns everyone "not to place on Russia the responsibilities that it does not want to assume".

Photo: Flickr / Clay Gilliland