The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called to ensure free movement through the Lachin Corridor

The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called for the issue of the Lachine Corridor to be resolved through dialogue.
"We call on the sides to resolve pending issues through a dialogue, urgently enable free & safe movement, protect human rights& avoid adverse humanitarian impact on civilians," the statement of the office reads.

Azerbaijani FM Bayramov accused Armenia of being "deconstructive" 

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan, Jeyhun Bayramov, considers the progress in negotiations with Armenia in 2022 regarding the peace treaty and border delimitation to be limited.  According to Azerbaijani media, he accused Armenia of allegedly being destructive.

 "The first round of peace treaty negotiations took place in Geneva, the second in Washington, and the third round did not take place due to the refusal of the Armenian side.  Also, three sessions of the joint commission for border demarcation took place.  In general, the progress achieved regarding the peace agreement and border demarcation is very limited, the reason is the non-constructive and inconsistent position of the Armenian side," Bayramov said at the press conference summarizing the results of 2022.

He noted that "Armenia must fulfill its obligations, and Baku will continue its efforts for Armenia to fulfill them."

The Foreign Minister also noted that for Baku, Russia's proposal to leave the issue of the status of Nagorno Karabakh to future generations is unacceptable.

 "It is no secret that the Russian side proposed to leave the issue related to the status of Karabakh to future generations.  Baku has already expressed its position on this issue," Bayramov said.

At the moment, the most urgent issue is the crisis that exists on the Lachin corridor: Pashinyan had a conversation with Putin

A private conversation between the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan and the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin took place in Saint Petersburg, RA Prime Minister's Office reports.

In his speech, Vladimir Putin, in particular, noted:  "Dear Nikol, quite recently the meeting of the intergovernmental commission took place, the colleagues noted that the situation in the economic sphere is developing quite positively in our country.  During the first 10 months of the current year, the increase in turnover was 73 percent, which is a good result.

We started with you yesterday, and we managed to talk with you, of course, the main issue in general is the settlement of the situation in the South Caucasus, Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, and everything related to Karabakh.  And as we agreed, we discuss all these issues in detail."

Vladimir Putin stated that on December 26, on the eve of the informal CIS summit, a three-way conversation was held with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. The Russian President also noted that he will discuss the settlement of the situation in the South Caucasus and Armenian-Azerbaijani relations with the Prime Minister of Armenia.  "Of course, the main problem is the settlement of the situation in the South Caucasus as a whole, Armenian-Azerbaijani relations, everything related to Karabakh," Putin said.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, in his turn, noted that the Lachin Corridor has not been under the control of the Russian peacekeeping troops for 20 days.

 "At the moment, the most important thing is the crisis of the Lachine Corridor.  You know that it has been blocked for almost 20 days," said the RA Prime Minister.

Nikol Pashinyan reminded that the Lachin Corridor in Nagorno-Karabakh is under the control of Russian peacekeepers.

 "I want to remind you that according to the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020 (by the President of the Russian Federation, the President of Azerbaijan, and the Prime Minister of Armenia), the Lachin Corridor should be under the control of Russian peacekeepers.  And the Republic of Azerbaijan has guaranteed the uninterrupted passage of passengers and cargo through the Lachin Corridor.  Now it turns out that the Lachin corridor is not under the control of Russian peacekeepers.  Of course, I would like to discuss this situation and what options are available (to resolve the created situation, - ed.)," said Nikol Pashinyan.

The citizens of Artsakh who were carrying out the march decided to spend the night outside: They didn't manage to meet the commander of the Russian peacekeeping mission, Andrey Volkov

Today, on December 27, Artsakh residents marched to Stepanakert airport to demand a meeting with the commander of the Russian peacekeeping mission, Andrey Volkov.

Citizens marching in Artsakh decided to spend the night outside because they did not manage to meet with Volkov.

They marched to the Stepanakert airport, then went down from the airport entrance to the main entrance, where the peacekeepers were stationed.

From December 12 until today, Azerbaijan continues to close the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia. On December 12, at 10:30 a.m., a group of Azerbaijanis closed the Shushi-Karin section of the Stepanakert-Goris highway, putting 120.000 residents of Artsakh under siege. 1.100 civilians, including 270 minors, cannot return to Artsakh, some temporarily staying in Syunik. The transport connection of Lisagor, Mets Shen, Hin Shen, and Yegtsahogh villages of the Shushi region with the capital Stepanakert is interrupted.

Since December 13, Azerbaijan has also interrupted the gas supply of the Republic of Artsakh. The gas supply was restored on December 16.

Other News

• The Armenian Genocide Museum-Institute Foundation issued a statement regarding the closure of the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia by Azerbaijan.