View source for Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh

{{Short description|Part of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2022}}
{{Infobox civil conflict
| title = Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh
| partof = the [[Nagorno-Karabakh conflict]]
| image = {{multiple image
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| total_width = 310
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| image1 = Azerbaijan'n checkpoint near bridge over Hakari river (June 2023).jpg
| image2 = Azerbaijani Checkpoint at the Lachin Corridor, as viewed from Kornidzor, Republic of Armenia.jpg
| image3 = EUMA monitors within Armenia looking at the Azerbaijani military checkpoint and the humanitarian convoy of trucks is blocked on the Lachin corridor into Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh).jpg
}}
| caption = Azerbaijan's military checkpoint on the Lachin corridor (top and bottom left), which was the only road connecting Artsakh to the outside world. [[EUMA]] monitors view the military checkpoint in the distance and the emergency aid convoy of trucks that Azerbaijan has blocked from entering (bottom right).
| date = 12 December 2022 – 30 September 2023<br />({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=12|day1=12|year1=2022|month2=09|day2=30|year2=2023}})
| time-begin =
| time-end =
| timezone =
| place = Nagorno-Karabakh
| coordinates =
| causes =
| goals = {{blist
|Delegitimize and undermine the government of the self-proclaimed [[Republic of Artsakh]]<ref name="ReferenceA">{{Cite news|date=2023-05-30|title=Azerbaijani president gives ultimatum to Karabakh authorities|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijani-president-gives-ultimatum-to-karabakh-authorities|quote=The president of Azerbaijan has delivered an ultimatum to de facto authorities in Nagorno Karabakh: disband your government or prepare for the consequences. He suggested Baku could easily end Armenian administration of the region through military action.|ref=test}}</ref><ref name="Oltramonti">{{Cite web|last=Oltramonti|first=Giulia Prelz|title=Nagorno-Karabakh: slowly but surely, Baku is weaponising the green movement to cut off the region's supplies|url=http://theconversation.com/nagorno-karabakh-slowly-but-surely-baku-is-weaponising-the-green-movement-to-cut-off-the-regions-supplies-200495|access-date=2023-03-13|website=The Conversation|date=13 March 2023|language=en|quote="Azerbaijan's approach has morphed into a strategy to render Nagorno-Karabakh unviable as a de facto state. This tactic is meant to bring about an outflow of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh through the creation of a humanitarian crisis and to delegitimise the project of de facto statehood and the authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh."}}</ref>
|Annex the region to Azerbaijan<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Avedissian|first=Karena|date=2023-08-01|title=The Failure of the European Union to Address the Threat of Ethnic Cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/GSI-2023-0012|journal=Genocide Studies International|language=en|volume=15|issue=1|pages=34–44|doi=10.3138/GSI-2023-0012|s2cid=261022069|issn=2291-1847|quote=Every military escalation since the 2020 War has resulted in Azerbaijani forces gaining ground, and never the other way around. This resembles creeping annexation of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia...The EU's limited involvement in the conflict, especially inside Nagorno-Karabakh, has led to it being perceived as a reluctant partner, and has undermined its normative credentials. By not addressing the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, which would have entailed some restraining of Aliyev's aggressive policies against Armenians, the ethnic cleansing of Armenians is now imminent.}}</ref><ref name=":c3" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Saya|first=Bapak|date=2023-01-20|title=Will Turkey profit from a 2023 war between Armenia and Azerbaijan?|url=https://medyanews.net/will-turkey-profit-from-a-2023-war-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan/|access-date=2023-09-15|website=Medya News|language=en-US|quote=Azerbaijan knows the time is ripe for another push to seize territory currently home to ethnic Armenians and de facto annex it to full Azerbaijani control, framing its actions as countering Russian influence in order to win Western acquiescence, if not open support}}</ref>
|Ethnically cleanse the region of ethnic Armenians<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=2023-01-12|title=The Crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh Is Textbook Ethnic Cleansing|url=https://time.com/6246850/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-lachin-corridor/|access-date=2023-08-04|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Korah" /><ref name="provmag">{{Cite web|first=Alberto M.|last=Fernandez|date=2023-03-17|title=Artsakh: Obsessions and Distractions in the Wake of the War in Ukraine - Providence|url=https://providencemag.com/2023/03/artsakh-obsessions-and-distractions-in-the-wake-of-the-ukraine-war/|access-date=2023-08-04|website=providencemag.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-06-07|title=A Serious Risk of Genocide: Recent Developments in Nagorno-Karabakh {{!}} City, University of London|url=https://www.city.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2023/06/a-serious-risk-of-genocide-recent-developments-in-nagorno-karabakh|access-date=2023-08-04|website=www.city.ac.uk|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Castro|first=Elijah de|date=2023-04-24|title=Dispatch from Artsakh: 'A Continuous Effort to Ethnically Cleanse Armenians'|url=https://progressive.org/api/content/f912b9c0-e2c5-11ed-86d2-12163087a831/|access-date=2023-08-04|website=Progressive.org|language=en-us}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=Josiah|date=2023-05-01|title=Are US-Brokered Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Talks Dead on Arrival?|url=https://www.aei.org/foreign-and-defense-policy/are-us-brokered-armenia-azerbaijan-peace-talks-dead-on-arrival/|access-date=2023-08-04|website=American Enterprise Institute - AEI|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Cook|first=Rhian|date=2023-03-13|title=In Artsakh, Virtue Signalling but No Action|url=https://www.iwa.wales/agenda/2023/03/humanitarian-crisis-in-artsakh-virtue-signalling-but-no-action/|access-date=2023-08-04|website=Institute of Welsh Affairs|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=California Assembly Joint Resolution 1 {{!}} 2023-2024 {{!}} Regular Session CA AJR1 {{!}} 2023-2024|url=https://legiscan.com/CA/text/AJR1/id/2834484|access-date=2023-08-04|website=LegiScan|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Oltramonti"/><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-02-15|title=No Sanctions Against Azerbaijan, Blockade of Lachin Corridor Continues|url=https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/no-sanctions-against-azerbaijan-blockade-of-lachin-corridor-continues/|access-date=2023-07-17|website=europeanconservative.com|language=en-US}}</ref>
|Obtain concessions from Armenia
}}
| methods = {{blist
|Blockade of multiple roads<ref name="Schiff-2023">{{Cite web|title=Rep. Schiff Introduces Resolution to Recognize Artsakh's Independence and Condemn Azerbaijan's Aggression|url=https://schiff.house.gov/imo/media/doc/recognizing_the_republic_of_artsakhs_independence_and_condemning_azerbaijans_continued_aggression_against_armenia_and_artsakh.pdf|access-date=2023-05-03|website=schiff.house.gov|language=en|quote=...on March 26, 2023, Azerbaijani troops crossed the line of contact to launch an operation to cut off a dirt road that was providing some relief from the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, in violation of the 2020 cease-fire statement}}</ref><ref name="Gray-2023a" /><ref name="Avetisyan-2023b" /><ref name="Stepanian-2023a" />
|Barred entry and exit of food, supplies, and people
|Damage or cuts to public utilities (Internet, gas, electricity) and prevention of their repair<ref name="vaticannews.va">{{Cite web|date=2023-01-13|title=Nagorno-Karabakh: 120,000 isolated Armenians risk humanitarian catastrophe – Vatican News|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/world/news/2023-01/nagorno-karabakh-humanitarian-crisis-war-armenia-azerbaijan.html|access-date=2023-03-05|website=www.vaticannews.va|language=en|quote="Since 12 January, the cable for the internet connection has been sabotaged at the Azerbaijani blockade along the Lachin corridor."}}</ref><ref name="IAGS-2023">{{Cite journal|date=1 February 2023|title=Statement Condemning the Azerbaijani Blockade of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)|url=https://genocidescholars.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/IAGS-EB-AB-Statement-on-Azeri-Blockade-of-Artsakh.pdf|journal=International Association of Genocide Scholars|quote="The blockade and deliberate attacks on the critical infrastructure of Artsakh are a violation of Article 11.1, Right to Adequate Standard of Living and Article 12, The Right to Healthcare of International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights"}}</ref><ref name="CuttingOff" /><ref name="H. RES. 108">{{Cite web|date=2023-02-08|title=Armenia Caucus Leaders Introduce Resolution Condemning Azerbaijan's Blockade of Artsakh|url=http://pallone.house.gov/media/press-releases/armenia-caucus-leaders-introduce-resolution-condemning-azerbaijan-s-blockade|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230209232608/http://pallone.house.gov/media/press-releases/armenia-caucus-leaders-introduce-resolution-condemning-azerbaijan-s-blockade|archive-date=2023-02-09|id=[https://www.congress.gov/118/bills/hres108/BILLS-118hres108ih.pdf H. RES. 108]|access-date=2023-03-11|website=Congressman Frank Pallone|language=en|quote="Whereas Azerbaijan has taken dangerous, escalatory steps that have severely worsened the quality of life for the people living in Artsakh...through the sabotage of civilian infrastructure such as a critical natural gas pipeline, power transmission lines, and fixed-line internet."}}</ref><ref name="lemkininstitute.com">{{Cite web|title=Red Flag Alert for Genocide - Azerbaijan - Update 5|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/red-flag-alerts-1/red-flag-alert-for-genocide----azerbaijan---update-5|access-date=2023-05-04|website=Lemkin Institute|language=en|quote=By cutting access to necessary utilities, more than 120,000 civilians (including children and the elderly), hospitals, schools, universities, and kindergartens have been, deliberately, deprived of gas, heating, and hot water.|archive-date=22 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222104640/https://www.lemkininstitute.com/red-flag-alerts-1/red-flag-alert-for-genocide----azerbaijan---update-5|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Hill">{{Cite web|last=Hill|first=Nathaniel|date=2023-02-24|title=Genocide Emergency: Azerbaijan's Blockade of Artsakh|url=https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/genocide-emergency-azerbaijan-s-blockade-of-artsakh|access-date=2023-05-08|website=genocidewatch|language=en|quote=Azerbaijan has repeatedly turned off the supply of natural gas and electricity to Artsakh, subjecting its people to freezing temperatures.}}</ref><ref name="Ghazanchyan-2023" />
|Erection of military checkpoint
|False environmentalism<ref name="Pidgeon-2023" /><ref name="Gavin-2022"/>
}}
| result = {{blist
|Scarcity and rationing of food, medical supplies, and electricity<ref name="Avetisyan-2023a">{{Cite web|last1=Avetisyan|first1=Ani|last2=Aghayev|first2=Ismi|date=2023-01-04|title=Food and festivities in short supply as Nagorno-Karabakh enters new year under blockade|url=https://oc-media.org/food-and-festivities-in-short-supply-as-nagorno-karabakh-enters-new-year-under-blockade/|access-date=2023-01-27|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Jamnews-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-01-09|title="Azerbaijan is playing with fire" – Armenian political scientist|url=https://jam-news.net/analysis-of-the-nagorno-karabakh-blockade/|access-date=2023-01-09|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref>
|Separation of families<ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite web|title=Children and families affected by Nagorno-Karabakh conflict|url=https://www.unicef.org/armenia/en/children-and-families-affected-nagorno-karabakh-conflict|access-date=2023-01-25|website=www.unicef.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name="IDA-2023" />
|Hundreds of people unable to receive surgeries<ref name="jam-news.net">{{Cite web|last=|date=2023-02-06|title=Corridor blockade continues; more than 5,000 in NK have lost their jobs|url=https://jam-news.net/nagorno-karabkh-blokade/|access-date=2023-02-08|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US|quote=The information headquarters of the NK reports that 580 people have lost the opportunity to be operated on.}}</ref><ref name="Global Voices-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-02-22|title=Lachin Corridor standoff between Azerbaijan and Armenia enters third month|url=https://globalvoices.org/2023/02/22/lachin-corridor-standoff-between-azerbaijan-and-armenia-enters-third-month/|access-date=2023-06-12|website=Global Voices|language=en|quote=Hospitals in the region have also reported shortages of medical supplies and equipment, putting a hold on around 600 non-essential surgeries so they could tend to more urgent cases in operating rooms.}}</ref><ref name="Slaveva-2023">{{Cite web|last=Slaveva|first=Bilyana|date=2023-01-21|title=Lachin Corridor Protests Threaten To Reignite Conflict In Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://theowp.org/lachin-corridor-protests-threaten-to-reignite-conflict-in-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-06-12|website=The Organization for World Peace|language=en-US|quote=Pharmacies do not have the necessary medication, and all scheduled surgeries are postponed.}}</ref>
|Scarcity of electricity and gas
|Depletion of water reservoirs<ref name="Sukiasyan-2023" /><ref name="Shahverdyan">{{Cite news|last=Shahverdyan|first=Lilit|date=2023-05-26|title=Six months into blockade, Nagorno-Karabakh faces energy crisis as key reservoir dries up|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/six-months-into-blockade-nagorno-karabakh-faces-energy-crisis-as-key-reservoir-dries-up|quote=The Sarsang Reservoir in Armenian-administered Nagorno-Karabakh is reaching critically low levels...On January 9, the Nagorno-Karabakh government began implementing rolling blackouts since the region was now entirely dependent on its own generation capacity...}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceC">{{Cite web|date=2023-06-02|title=Nagorno-Karabakh's newest battle is over water|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/nagorno-karabakh-new-battle-water-azerbaijan-armenia/|access-date=2023-06-12|website=POLITICO|language=en|quote=Water levels at the Sarsang Hydro Power Plant have dropped by 33 meters to just 15 percent of their maximum, operators say, claiming they could "quickly run out" altogether and spark a catastrophe for the tens of thousands of people living in the isolated territory, as well as the environment around them.}}</ref>
|Detention of independent media personnel<ref name="Meydan2022" />
|Disregard for international legal rulings<ref name="ReferenceD">{{Cite web|title=Statement on Azerbaijan s Noncompliance with February 22nd ICJ Order to Unblock Lachin Corridor|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/statements-new-page/statement-on-azerbaijan-s-noncompliance-with-february-22nd-icj-order-to-unblock-lachin-corridor|access-date=2023-04-13|website=Lemkin Institute|language=en}}</ref><ref name="HUDOC-2022">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-22|title=HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights - European Court decides to indicate interim measures in the "Lachin Corridor"|url=https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/app/conversion/pdf/?library=ECHR&id=003-7528728-10337270&filename=Interim%20measures%20in%20the%20case%20Armenia%20v.%20Azerbaijan%20(no.%204).pdf|access-date=2023-06-12|website=hudoc.echr.coe.int}}</ref>
|Closure of all schools
|Azerbaijan launching an [[2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh|offensive]] against Artsakh in September 2023
}}
| side1 = {{flag|Azerbaijan}}
| side2 = {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Peacekeeping operations in Nagorno-Karabakh|Russian peacekeepers]]
| side3 = {{flag|Artsakh}}
| leadfigures1 = {{flagicon|Azerbaijan}} [[Ilham Aliyev]]{{Efn|Azerbaijani Foreign Minister [[Jeyhun Bayramov]] also specified a condition for lifting the blockade initiated by the "eco-protestors".<ref name="euronews.com">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-28|title=Azerbaijan demands Karabakh mine access as condition to end protests blocking road|url=https://www.euronews.com/2022/12/28/armenia-azerbaijan|access-date=2022-12-28|website=euronews|language=en}}</ref>}}
| leadfigures2 = {{flagicon|Russia}} [[Kirill Kulakov]] (4–30 September 2023)<ref>{{Cite web| url=https://www.vedomosti.ru/society/news/2023/09/04/993419-kulakov-stal-komanduyuschim-mirotvortsami |title=Кирилл Кулаков стал командующим миротворцами в Нагорном Карабахе |work=www.vedomosti.ru |date=4 September 2023 }}</ref><br>{{flagicon|Russia}} [[Alexander Lentsov]] (25 April – 4 September 2023)
| leadfigures3 = {{flagicon|Artsakh}} [[Samvel Shahramanyan]] (10–30 September 2023)<br>{{flagicon|Artsakh}} [[Arayik Harutyunyan]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/vasily-anisimov-putin-judo-flees-russia-croatia-switzerland-1764209|title=Putin's Former Judo Sparring Partner Flees Russia|website=[[Newsweek]]|date=2 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20221225-thousands-rally-in-nagorno-karabakh-to-protest-land-blockade-1|title=Thousands rally in Nagorno-Karabakh to protest land blockade|publisher=France 24|date=25 December 2022|access-date=29 March 2023}}</ref> (until 1 September 2023)
| injuries =
| fatalities = 4 civilians{{efn|a patient who could not be transferred to Armenia for medical care, two children, and one man}}<ref>{{Cite news|title=Արցախում բուժօգնության կարիք ունեցող ծանր հիվանդներից մեկը մահացել է|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32183196.html|access-date=2023-01-23|website=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|date=21 December 2022|language=hy|last1=Բադալյան|first1=Սուսան}}[https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32183196.html Արցախում բուժօգնության կարիք ունեցող ծանր հիվանդներից մեկը մահացել է]</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1100099.html|title="Every minute counts in an emergency" – Healthcare Minister on death of patient in Azeri blockade of Nagorno Karabakh|website=armenpress.am|date=20 December 2022 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://news.am/eng/news/770358.html|title=Armenia FM: Karabakh children Leo, 3, and Gita, 6, died as consequence of serious humanitarian situation|website=news.am|date=28 August 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://oc-media.org/first-death-from-starvation-reported-in-blockade-struck-nagorno-karabakh/|title=First death from starvation reported in blockade-struck Nagorno-Karabakh|website=oc-media.org|date=15 August 2023}}</ref>
| arrests =
| detentions = 2 independent journalists,<ref name="Meydan2022" /> 5 civilians <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/746016/azerbaijan-kidnaps-nagorno-karabakh-civilian-being-evacuated-by-red-cross/|title=Azerbaijan kidnaps Nagorno-Karabakh civilian being evacuated by Red Cross|website=civilnet.am|date=30 July 2023}}</ref><ref name="ocmedia">{{Cite web|url=https://oc-media.org/azerbaijan-arrests-nagorno-karabakh-resident-for-illegal-border-crossing/|title=Azerbaijan arrests Nagorno-Karabakh resident for 'illegal border crossing'|website=oc-media.org|date=2 August 2023}}</ref><ref name=":c3"/><ref name=":c4"/>
| charged =
| fined =
| effect = 11,000, including over 50% of private sector workers <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.1lurer.am/en/2023/07/14/According-to-Nagorno-Karabakh-Government-bulletin-215th-day-of-blockade/962520|title=During blockade, economy of Nagorno-Karabakh damaged by around $409 million|website=1lurer.am|date=14 July 2023}}</ref>
| effect_label = Workers laid off
| casualties_label = Material consequences for individuals
| notes =
| buildings =
| sidebox = {{Campaignbox Nagorno-Karabakh conflict}}
}}The '''blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh''' was an event in the [[Nagorno-Karabakh conflict]]. The [[Nagorno-Karabakh|region]] was disputed between [[Azerbaijan]] and the [[List of states with limited recognition|breakaway]] [[Republic of Artsakh]], [[Diplomatic recognition|internationally recognised]] as part of [[Azerbaijan]], which had an ethnic [[Armenian people|Armenian]] population and was supported by neighbouring [[Armenia]], until the dissolution of [[Republic of Artsakh]] on 28 September 2023.<ref>{{cite news|title=Nagorno-Karabakh to dissolve, ending independence dream|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20230928-nagorno-karabakh-to-dissolve-ending-independence-dream|access-date=28 September 2023|work=France 24|agency=AFP|date=28 September 2023|language=en}}</ref>
On 12 December 2022, under the guise of [[Environmentalism|environmental protests]], the [[Politics of Azerbaijan|Azerbaijani government]] launched a [[blockade]] of the Republic of Artsakh<ref name="BBC2">{{Cite news|title=Азербайджанские "активисты" блокируют дорогу из Карабаха в Армению. Одновременно в Карабахе пропал газ|language=ru|trans-title=Azerbaijani "activists" are blocking the road from Karabakh to Armenia. At the same time, gas disappeared in Karabakh|work=BBC News Русская Служба|url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-63975080}}</ref><ref name="Gorecki-2023">{{Cite web|last1=Górecki|first1=Wojciech|last2=Strachota|first2=Krzysztof|date=2023-03-06|title=The undeclared war. A new phase of the Azerbaijani-Armenian conflict|url=https://www.osw.waw.pl/en/publikacje/osw-commentary/2023-03-06/undeclared-war-a-new-phase-azerbaijani-armenian-conflict|access-date=2023-06-14|website=OSW Centre for Eastern Studies|language=en|quote=Although this venture is being spearheaded by alleged environmental activists demanding permission to monitor Karabakh's rare metal deposits...it would be impossible to carry out such an action in Azerbaijan without the cooperation of the authorities.}}</ref><ref name="European Parliament-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-01-11|title=Implementation of the common foreign and security policy – annual report 2022: Motion for a resolution Paragraph 80 a (new)|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/A-9-2022-0292-AM-047-054_EN.pdf|website=European Parliament|quote=The European Parliament adopted the Implementation of the common foreign and security policy – annual report 2022 resolution on January 18.  The plenary session also adopted an amendment, saying the European parliament "strongly denounces Azerbaijan's illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor, in violation of the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020, as it threatens to precipitate an intentional humanitarian crisis for the people of NagornoKarabakh; demands that the Azerbaijani authorities restore freedom of movement through the Lachin corridor with immediate effect."}}</ref> by sending citizens claiming to be eco-activists to block the [[Lachin corridor]], a [[humanitarian corridor]] which connected Artsakh to Armenia and the outside world.<ref name="Reuters-2022">{{Cite web|date=15 December 2022|title=Armenia, Azerbaijan tensions rise over blocked road|url=https://news.yahoo.com/armenia-azerbaijan-tensions-rise-over-180523552.html|website=news.yahoo.com|language=en-US|quote=A group of Azerbaijanis claiming to be environmental activists blocked the Lachin corridor.}}</ref><ref name="Azerbaijani">{{Cite web|title=Lachin Corridor and Nagorno-Karabakh - Hansard - UK Parliament|date=12 February 2024 |url=https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2023-01-24/debates/B6665EA2-0487-4DD5-8FAD-52C81A74FC4D/LachinCorridorAndNagorno-Karabakh|quote=The report shows that they are clearly 'representatives of Azerbaijani non-governmental organizations, which are directly and exclusively financed by the Azerbaijani government, or the Heydar Aliyev Foundation headed by the first vice president and first lady of Azerbaijan. Furthermore, evidence has been registered that representatives of the Azerbaijani special services are also amongst the alleged "environmental activists" who are currently blocking the only lifeline' for Nagorno-Karabakh.}}</ref><ref name="France 24-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-04-28|title=France calls on Azerbaijan to reopen humanitarian corridor with Armenia|url=https://www.france24.com/en/asia-pacific/20230428-france-calls-on-azerbaijan-to-reopen-humanitarian-corridor-with-armenia|access-date=2023-08-10|website=France 24|language=en}}</ref> Disguised military personnel, civil servants, members of pro-government NGOs, and youth organisations were among the so-called activists.<ref name="Civilnet-2022b">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-14|title=Who really are Azerbaijan's 'environmental activists' blockading Karabakh?|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/686152/who-really-are-azerbaijans-environmental-activists-blockading-karabakh/|access-date=2023-06-20|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US|quote=The "activists" who have been keeping Karabakh under blockade for three consecutive days now have "interesting" identities, but not for any environmental protection activities. In fact, they represent organizations that have very clear connections with the Azerbaijani government and are financed, at least in part, by the state.}}</ref> The Azerbaijani government consolidated its blockade by [[Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis (2021–present)#Armenian territory occupied by Azerbaijan|seizing territory around the Lachin corridor both within Artsakh and Armenia]], blocking alternative bypass routes, and installing military checkpoints.<ref name="Khulian">{{Cite news|last1=Khulian|first1=Artak|last2=Stepanian|first2=Ruzanna|date=2023-03-31|title=Armenian Government Blamed For Fresh Azeri Territorial Gains|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32343733.html|access-date=2023-06-14|quote=Azerbaijani troops redeployed on Thursday morning to more parts of the Lachin district adjacent to the Armenian border, blocking the old [Lachin] corridor section.}}</ref><ref name="OC Media-2023c" /><ref name="Loe-2023">{{Cite web|last=Loe|first=Catherine|date=2023-04-27|title=Azerbaijan sets up checkpoints on the Lachin corridor|url=https://www.eiu.com/n/azerbaijan-sets-up-checkpoints-on-the-lachin-corridor/|access-date=2023-05-03|website=Economist Intelligence Unit|language=en-GB|quote=The move [installation of a checkpoint] has increased the blockade of Nagorny Karabakh...A checkpoint on the border would give Azerbaijan the ability to stop any cars travelling between Armenia and Nagorny Karabakh.}}</ref> Azerbaijan also sabotaged critical civilian infrastructure of Artsakh, crippling access to gas, electricity, and internet access.<ref name="IAGS-2023" /><ref name="OC Media-2023a">{{Cite web|date=2023-01-17|title=Nagorno-Karabakh reports gas cut for second time since start of blockade|url=https://oc-media.org/nagorno-karabakh-reports-gas-cut-for-second-time-since-start-of-blockade/|access-date=2023-01-18|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-08-02|title=Atrocity Alert No. 358: El Salvador, Nagorno-Karabakh and UN peacekeeping - El Salvador {{!}} ReliefWeb|url=https://reliefweb.int/report/el-salvador/atrocity-alert-no-358-el-salvador-nagorno-karabakh-and-un-peacekeeping|access-date=2023-08-03|website=reliefweb.int|language=en|quote=The blockade has deprived over 120,000 ethnic Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh, including 30,000 children, of life-saving resources such as food, medicine, electricity and fuel.}}</ref>
The blockade led to a humanitarian crisis for the population in Artsakh; imports of essential goods have been blocked, as well as humanitarian convoys of the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers, trapping the 120,000 residents of the region.<ref name="Poston-2023">{{Cite web|last=POSTON|first=ALEXIS|date=2023-06-07|title=State Fragility and the Shadow of Genocide in Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia (the South Caucasus) {{!}} The Fund for Peace|url=https://fundforpeace.org/2023/06/07/STATE-FRAGILITY-AND-THE-SHADOW-OF-GENOCIDE-IN-NAGORNO-KARABAKH-AND-ARMENIA-THE-SOUTH-CAUCASUS/#_ftn20|access-date=2023-06-08|website=fundforpeace.org|quote=Armenian civilians of Nagorno Karabakh and surrounding regions along the Armenian-Azerbaijani border are threatened by Azerbaijan's military and face violence if they try to leave Armenian territory within disputed areas.}}</ref><ref name="crisisgroup-2023a">{{Cite web|date=2023-05-22|title=New Troubles in Nagorno-Karabakh: Understanding the Lachin Corridor Crisis|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagorno-karabakh-conflict/new-troubles-nagorno-karabakh-understanding-lachin-corridor-crisis|access-date=2023-05-23|website=www.crisisgroup.org|language=en|quote=While travellers were already few due to the blockade, the ICRC reports that its ability to get people across has been curtailed [since the installation of the checkpoint], leaving only the Russian peacekeepers to facilitate trips to Armenia for medical care.}}</ref><ref name="crisisgroup-2023b">{{Cite web|date=2023-05-31|title=June Alerts and May Trends 2023|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/crisiswatch/june-alerts-and-may-trends-2023|access-date=2023-06-19|website=www.crisisgroup.org|language=en|quote=Checkpoint on Lachin corridor faced fierce opposition amid humanitarian crisis....Azerbaijani military consolidated [the] blockade, however, leading to even fewer crossings and reduced transportation of goods.}}</ref> Shortages of essential goods{{Snd}}including electricity, fuel, and water reserves{{Snd}}were widespread and emergency reserves were rationed, along mass unemployment, and closures of schools and public transportation.<ref name="Gray-2023b">{{Cite web|last=Gray|first=Sébastien|date=2023-01-09|title=Artsakh Blockade Nearing 1 Month, Shortages Widespread|url=https://theatlasnews.co/conflict/2023/01/09/artsakh-blockade-nearing-1-month-shortages-widespread/|access-date=2023-01-10|website=Atlas News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="intellinews.com">{{Cite web|last=Hauer|first=Neil|date=2023-02-20|title=Hopelessness grows as Azerbaijan's blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh enters third month|url=https://www.intellinews.com/hopelessness-grows-as-azerbaijan-s-blockade-of-nagorno-karabakh-enters-third-month-270518/|access-date=2023-02-20|website=bne IntelliNews|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Khulian-2023b">{{Cite news|last=Khulian|first=Artak|date=2023-01-31|title=Azeri Blockade Leaves Thousands Of Karabakh Armenians Jobless|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32247853.html|access-date=2023-02-20}}</ref><ref name="Civilnet-2023c">{{Cite web|date=2023-06-20|title=Uncertainty plagues Nagorno-Karabakh students pursuing higher education|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/742289/uncertainty-plagues-nagorno-karabakh-students-pursuing-higher-education/|access-date=2023-06-20|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US|quote=When Azerbaijan's blockade began, kindergartens and schools were among the first institutions to be shut down due to gas supply cuts and shortages, depriving students across dozens of schools of the right to education. Since then, the operations of nearly every educational institution in Nagorno-Karabakh, including NGOs with branches in Stepanakert and across the region, have been deeply disturbed by the blockade.}}</ref>
Azerbaijan claimed its actions were aimed at preventing the transportation of weapons and natural resources;<ref name="Presse-2023">{{Cite web|last=Presse|first=AFP-Agence France|title=Azerbaijan Says Set Up Checkpoint On Key Route To Armenia|url=https://www.barrons.com/news/azerbaijan-says-set-up-checkpoint-on-key-route-to-armenia-485578b0|access-date=2023-04-23|website=www.barrons.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Gavin-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-04-23|title=Azerbaijan installs checkpoint on road to Nagorno-Karabakh amid fatal clashes|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/azerbaijan-installs-checkpoint-on-road-to-nagorno-karabakh-amid-fatal-clashes/|access-date=2023-05-03|website=Politico|language=en}}</ref> Azerbaijan also said its goal was for Artsakh's "integration" into Azerbaijan, despite opposition from the population, and threatened military action.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Green|first=Anna|date=2023-07-28|title="Integration" of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|url=https://evnreport.com/politics/integration-of-nagorno-karabakh-armenians-a-tool-for-subjugation-and-ethnic-cleansing-by-azerbaijan/|access-date=2023-08-16|website=EVN Report|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Ivanova|first=Polina|date=2023-08-15|title='People feel let down by Russia': disputed Caucasus enclave choked by blockade|work=Financial Times|url=https://www.ft.com/content/d5488713-bd05-4895-abc3-e936a42664ba|access-date=2023-08-16|quote=Others see the escalating humanitarian situation as a way to trigger an exodus. It is "indirect ethnic cleansing", said Giragosian, of the Regional Studies Center. "Not by bayonet, but rather by creating unbearable conditions." Suleymanov, the Azerbaijani ambassador, said Baku instead wanted to achieve full integration of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. "They are our citizens", he said, adding that he believed they would be passport-holders soon.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict: Could it escalate again? – DW – 08/13/2023|url=https://www.dw.com/en/armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-could-it-escalate-again/a-66518099|access-date=2023-08-16|website=dw.com|language=en|quote=However, the self-proclaimed government of Nagorno-Karabakh, made up of ethnic Armenians and calling the region the "Republic of Arzakh" since 2017, has so far refused integration into Azerbaijan.<br>Azerbaijani President Aliyev doesn't seem interested in this solution, either. He has repeatedly called for the government and parliament of the "Republic of Arzakh" to be dissolved and for Armenians there to be integrated into Azerbaijan as "normal, loyal citizens." This was a condition upon which Aliyev recently offered to supply the trapped Armenians with aid — something they promptly rejected as a "poisoned" offer.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-03-08|title=Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh Remain Under Siege|url=https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/armenians-in-nagorno-karabakh-remain-under-siege/|access-date=2023-08-16|website=europeanconservative.com|language=en-US|quote=Negotiations in this region are at an impasse, with the Armenian enclave requesting humanitarian assistance and Azerbaijan demanding integration of the Armenians into Azerbaijan.}}</ref>
Numerous countries, international organizations, and human rights observers condemned the blockade and considered it to be a form of [[hybrid warfare]],<ref name="Oltramonti" /><ref name="Democracy Now!-2023">{{Cite web|title=Azerbaijan Blockades Nagorno-Karabakh Region, Angering Armenia & Raising Specter of a New War|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2023/1/19/nagorno_karabakh_tensions_rise|access-date=2023-08-11|website=Democracy Now!|language=en|quote=... Russia is not opposed to allowing Azerbaijan use a hybrid warfare strategy such as this one, which is blockading the only corridor that's a lifeline to, quite basically, eventually pressure Armenia into an actual peace deal, into concessions ...}}</ref><ref name="Green-2022">{{Cite web|last=Green|first=Anna|date=2022-12-20|title=Weaponizing Blockade With the Intent to Ethnically Cleanse|url=https://evnreport.com/spotlight-karabakh/weaponizing-blockade-with-the-intent-to-ethnically-cleanse/|access-date=2023-08-11|website=EVN Report|language=en-US|quote=By utilizing pseudo eco-protesters instead of military movements by Azerbaijani forces, as was the previous strategy, and causing a humanitarian crisis accompanied with false narratives and disinformation, Azerbaijan is employing hybrid warfare tactics against the Armenians. This operation is pursuing short-, mid- and long-term objectives.}}</ref> ethnic cleansing,<ref name="Gavin-2023b" /><ref name="Bulut" /><ref name="Johnson-2023">{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=Josiah|date=2023-08-10|title=Is Nagorno-Karabakh the New Darfur?|url=https://www.aei.org/foreign-and-defense-policy/is-nagorno-karabakh-the-new-darfur/|access-date=2023-08-11|website=American Enterprise Institute - AEI|language=en-US}}</ref> and genocide.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ochab|first=Dr Ewelina U.|title=Lachin Corridor Blockade Starves Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/ewelinaochab/2023/08/08/lachin-corridor-blockade-starves-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-08-09|website=Forbes|language=en|quote=Luis Moreno Ocampo, the founding Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court,  argues that "there is a reasonable basis to believe that a genocide is being committed against Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh in 2023," adding that it "should be considered a genocide under Article II (c) of the [UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide] (Genocide Convention): 'Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.'" Ocampo further added that "There are no crematories, and there are no machete attacks. Starvation is the invisible genocide weapon. Without immediate dramatic change, this group of Armenians will be destroyed in a few weeks."}}</ref><ref name="Ռ/Կ-2023">{{Cite news|last=Ռ/Կ|first=«Ազատություն»|date=2023-08-09|title=Top International Lawyer Calls Azerbaijani Blockade Of Nagorno-Karabakh Genocide|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32540730.html|access-date=2023-08-11}}</ref><ref name="Genocide Warning: Nagorno Karabakh" /> Multiple international observers also considered the blockade and the inaction of the [[Peacekeeping operations in Nagorno-Karabakh|Russian peacekeepers]] to be violations of the [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement|tripartite ceasefire agreement]] signed between Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia, which ended the [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]] and guaranteed safe passage through the Lachin corridor.<ref name="AI">{{cite web |title=Azerbaijan: Blockade of Lachin corridor putting thousands of lives in peril must be immediately lifted |url=https://amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/02/azerbaijan-blockade-of-lachin-corridor-putting-thousands-of-lives-in-peril-must-be-immediately-lifted |website=Amnesty International |access-date=11 October 2023 |language=en |date=9 February 2023}}</ref><ref name="Douglas-2023">{{Cite web|last=Douglas|first=Nadja|date=2023-05-17|title=The Significance of the Lachin Corridor in the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict|url=https://www.zois-berlin.de/en/publications/zois-spotlight/the-significance-of-the-lachin-corridor-in-the-nagorno-karabakh-conflict|website=The Centre for East European and International Studies}}</ref><ref name="Von Joeden-Forgey and-2023">{{Cite web|last1=Von Joeden-Forgey and|first1=Elisa|last2=Victoria Massimino|first2=Irene|date=6 May 2023|title=Country Visit|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/armeniaproject/country-visit|access-date=2023-05-19|website=Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention|language=en|quote=The Azerbaijani government erected this illegal checkpoint on April 23, 2023 to formalize the illegal blockade of Armenians in Artsakh...}}</ref> Azerbaijan ignored calls from various countries and international organizations to restore freedom of movement through the corridor.<ref name="PACE-2023c">{{Cite web|date=2023-05-04|title=Statement by the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights on the obstruction of the Lachin Corridor|url=https://pace.coe.int/en/news/9025/statement-by-the-committee-on-legal-affairs-on-the-obstruction-of-the-lachin-corridor|website=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe}}</ref><ref name="ReferenceD" /> The blockade ended on 30 September 2023, following an [[2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh|Azerbaijani military offensive]] and the [[Flight of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|subsequent exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=30 September 2023|title=The Number of Residents of Karabakh Who Arrived in Armenia Exceeded 100 Thousand|url=https://www.interfax.ru/world/923532}}</ref>
==Background==
{{See also|Political status of Nagorno-Karabakh|Nagorno-Karabakh conflict}}
The [[Republic of Artsakh]], also known as the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, is a [[List of states with limited recognition|de facto state]] located on territory that is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan. The vast majority of Artsakh's inhabitants are ethnic Armenians; the mainland of Armenia is located to the west of Azerbaijan. The Republic of Artsakh is not recognized by any country, including Armenia; however, for the past 30 years international mediators have emphasized the right of self-determination for the local Armenian population.<ref name="wilsoncenter.org">{{Cite web|title=Kennan Cable No. 81: What's at Stake in Nagorno-Karabakh: U.S. Interests and the Risk of Ethnic Cleansing {{!}} Wilson Center|url=https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/kennan-cable-no-81-whats-stake-nagorno-karabakh-us-interests-and-risk-ethnic-cleansing|access-date=2023-04-04|website=www.wilsoncenter.org|language=en}}</ref>
Despite being offered Azerbaijani citizenship, Artsakh residents do not trust Azerbaijan's guarantees of security due to the [[Human rights in Azerbaijan|country's history of human rights abuses]], [[Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan|Armenophobia]], and [[Human rights in Azerbaijan|lack of rights to ethnic minorities]].<ref name="openDemocracy-2023">{{Cite web|title=Nagorno-Karabakh blockade: Azerbaijani journalist speaks out|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/nagorno-karabakh-blockade-azerbaijan-armenia-citizenship/|access-date=2023-01-26|website=openDemocracy|language=en}}</ref><ref name="wilsoncenter.org" /><ref name="Vock-2023">{{Cite web|last=Vock|first=Ido|date=2023-06-08|title=Fear and loathing in Armenia|url=https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/2023/06/fear-loathing-in-armenia-azerbaijan|access-date=2023-06-09|website=New Statesman|language=en-US|quote=Azerbaijan says the territory's inhabitants can live as Azerbaijani citizens under its sovereignty, but Armenians treat these claims with derision. 'Azerbaijani dissidents say even Azerbaijanis do not enjoy their constitutional rights,' Tigran Grigoryan, head of the Regional Centre for Democracy and Security, an Armenian think tank, told me. 'So how can Armenians expect to?'}}</ref> Since the [[Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]] in 2020, Azerbaijan no longer promises any special status or autonomy to its ethnic Armenian residents.<ref name="Isayev-2022">{{Cite web|last=Isayev|first=Heydar|date=20 April 2022|title=Azerbaijan quiet as Karabakh negotiations progress|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-quiet-as-karabakh-negotiations-progress|access-date=2023-01-02|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Vock-2023" /> The Republic of Artsakh has also become increasingly dependent on Armenia since territories with vital agricultural, water, and energy resources were surrendered to Azerbaijan as per the ceasefire agreement.<ref name="Green-2023">{{Cite web|last=Green|first=Anna|date=2023-02-09|title=Weaponizing Energy: Nagorno-Karabakh's Energy Supplies Under Siege|url=https://evnreport.com/spotlight-karabakh/weaponizing-energy-nagorno-karabakhs-energy-supplies-under-siege/|access-date=2023-02-13|website=EVN Report|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Mejlumyan-2021">{{Cite news|last1=Mejlumyan|first1=Ani|last2=Natiqqizi|first2=Ulkar|date=2021-10-07|title=Hydropower in Karabakh: Armenians' loss is Azerbaijan's gain|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/hydropower-in-karabakh-armenians-loss-is-azerbaijans-gain|quote=Of the 36 plants that operated in Armenian-controlled territory before the war, only six remain under Armenian control. The hydropower production capacity in the territory decreased from 191 megawatts before the war to 79 megawatts now. ..."All the other plants are under the adversary's control, meaning the republic of Artsakh is not self-sufficient as it was before the war," Tovmasyan said, using the alternative Armenian name for the region. "The deficit is being made up by energy imported from Armenia."}}</ref><ref name="Hetq-2020">{{Cite web|title=Food Security Risk: Large Portion of Artsakh's Bread Basket Lost|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/124985|access-date=2023-02-13|website=Hetq.am|date=3 December 2020|language=en}}</ref><ref name="armenpress-2023">{{Cite web|title=Արցախի առկա վարելահողերի ճիշտ կառավարումը հնարավորություն կտա ապահովել պարենային անվտանգությունը|url=https://armenpress.am/arm/news/1044255|access-date=2023-02-13|website=armenpress.am|date=23 February 2021 |language=hy}}</ref><ref name="Civilnet-2021a">{{Cite web|date=2021-02-02|title=Արցախի տարածքային կորուստներից հետո ՀՀ կառավարությունը կսուբսիդավորի հացահատիկի արտադրությունը|url=https://www.civilnet.am/news/474076/արցախի-տարածքային-կորուստներից-հետո-հհ-կառավարությունը-կսուբսիդավորի-հացահատիկի-արտադրությունը/|access-date=2023-02-13|website=Civilnet|language=hy-AM}}</ref> Before the blockade, Artsakh imported 90% of its food from Armenia.<ref name="El Pais-2023">{{cite web|url=https://english.elpais.com/international/2023-04-05/the-siege-on-nagorno-karabakh-tightens-increasing-tension-in-the-caucasus.html|title=The siege on Nagorno-Karabakh tightens, increasing tension in the Caucasus|date=5 April 2023}}</ref> As per the 2020 ceasefire agreement, Armenian forces were removed from the region and [[Peacekeeping operations in Nagorno-Karabakh|Russian peacekeeping forces]] were given a mandate in the region until 2025.<ref name="Aghayev-2023">{{Cite web|last1=Aghayev|first1=Ismi|last2=Avetisyan|first2=Ani|date=2023-03-07|title=Nagorno-Karabakh claims Azerbaijan offered 'integration' or 'tougher measures'|url=https://oc-media.org/nagorno-karabakh-claims-azerbaijan-offered-integration-or-tougher-measures/|access-date=2023-03-07|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Rozovsky-2023" /> Until Azerbaijan imposed a blockade, the Russian peacekeepers controlled entry and exit through the Lachin corridor and shared lists of people entering with Azerbaijan.<ref name="crisisgroup-2023a" /><ref name="Stepanian-2023b">{{Cite news|last=Stepanian|first=Ruzanna|date=2023-08-07|title=Russian Peacekeepers Said To Refuse To Provide Security To Karabakh Protesters|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32537694.html|access-date=2023-08-08|quote=They [the Russian peacekeepers] are also blamed for effectively ceding control of the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia, to Azerbaijan earlier this year amid a perceived weakening of Russia's political and military positions in the region due to its largely failing invasion of Ukraine.}}</ref>
=== First blockade (1989–2023) and isolation from Armenia (1989–1992) ===
Artsakh and neighbouring Armenia were blockaded for the first time in August 1989, with Azerbaijan severing transport and economic links both between Armenia and Azerbaijan and between Artsakh and Armenia.<ref name="Kambeck-2013">{{cite book|date=2013|editor-last=Kambeck|editor-first=Michael|editor2-last=Ghazaryan|editor2-first=Sargis|title=Europe's Next Avoidable War|url=https://link.springer.com/book/10.1057/9781137030009|language=en|pages=25|doi=10.1057/9781137030009|isbn=978-1-349-33644-9|quote=1989 August: Azerbaijan imposes a railway blockade on Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, abrogating fundamental principles of Soviet solidarity.}}</ref><ref name="euronews-2016">{{Cite web|date=2016-04-05|title=Dates and facts around Nagorno-Karabakh's 30-year long conflict|url=https://www.euronews.com/2016/04/05/key-dates-and-facts-to-understand-nagorno-karabakh-s-40-year-long-conflict|access-date=2023-06-18|website=euronews|language=en|quote=August 1989: Azerbaijan starts an economic blockade of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh. Tens of thousands are deplaced from their homes and many thousands die.}}</ref> [[Armenia–Turkey border|This blockade was later joined by Turkey]] in support of Azerbaijan and has continued into the present day.<ref name="euronews-2016" /><ref name="Refworld-2023">{{Cite web|publisher=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|title=Chronology for Armenians in Azerbaijan|url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/469f3866c.html|access-date=2023-01-25|website=Refworld|language=en}}</ref><ref name="closure2">{{Cite news|last=Göksedef|first=Ece|date=27 December 2021|title=1991'den bugüne Türkiye-Ermenistan ilişkileri: 30 yılda neler yaşandı?|language=tr|work=BBC News Türkçe|url=https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-turkiye-59802160|access-date=2022-10-24}}</ref> The national assembly of Nagorno-Karabakh voted to reunite with Armenia, resulting in Azerbaijan [[Law on Abolishment of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast|attempting to revoke its autonomy]] and [[Siege of Stepanakert|sieging its capital]] for 6 months.<ref name="jacobin-2023">{{Cite web|title=The West's Double Standards in the Armenian Crisis|url=https://jacobin.com/2023/08/armenian-crisis-western-strategy-double-standards-energy-security|access-date=2023-08-09|website=jacobin.com|language=en-US}}</ref>{{sfn|CSCE|1993|p=125}} The complete isolation of Artsakh from the outside world lasted for 3 years until Armenian forces opened a humanitarian corridor known as the [[Lachin corridor]] to Armenia in May 1992.<ref name="HUDOC-2023">{{Cite web|title=CASE OF CHIRAGOV AND OTHERS v. ARMENIA|url=https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre?i=001-155353|access-date=2023-06-09|website=HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights|quote=The capture of these two towns [Lachin and Shusha/Shushi] had been deemed necessary by the "NKR" forces in order to stop Azerbaijani war crimes and open up a humanitarian corridor to Armenia.}}</ref><ref name="Green-2017">{{Cite web|last=Green|first=Anna|date=2017-03-20|title=Spotlight Karabakh|url=https://evnreport.com/spotlight-karabakh/spotlight-karabakh/|access-date=2023-06-09|website=EVN Report|language=en-US|quote=On May 18, [1992] the Karabakh Army entered Lachin (Kashatagh), thus ending the three-year blockade.}}</ref>
In its attempt to isolate the region, [[List of people declared personae non gratae in Azerbaijan|the Azerbaijani government blacklists individuals]] from humanitarian organizations and journalists who work in Artsakh.<ref name="Civilnet-2021b">{{Cite web|date=2021-03-18|title=Azerbaijan Prevents Humanitarian Organizations Access to Karabakh Even After Putin's Call|url=https://www.civilnet.am/news/573554/azerbaijan-prevents-humanitarian-organizations-to-karabakh-even-after-putins-call/?lang=en|access-date=2023-06-06|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="AzMFA2">{{Cite web|date=2020-09-10|title=List of foreign citizens illegally visited occupied terrirtories of the Republic of Azerbaijan|url=https://mfa.gov.az/files/shares/illegally_visited.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201004094059/https://mfa.gov.az/files/shares/illegally_visited.pdf|archive-date=2020-10-04|access-date=2020-10-10|website=mfa.gov.az}}</ref> As a result of this, the only international organizations who work within Artsakh are [[HALO Trust|HALO]] and the [[International Committee of the Red Cross|ICRC]].<ref name="Kucera">{{Cite news|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|title=U.S. ends funding for Karabakh demining|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/us-ends-funding-for-karabakh-demining|quote=Most international organizations decline to operate in Karabakh because doing so usually results in being blacklisted by Azerbaijan; Halo is the most prominent organization to buck that sanction.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=de Waal|first=Thomas|date=2021-09-27|title=The Nagorny Karabakh Conflict in its Fourth Decade|url=https://www.ceps.eu/ceps-publications/the-nagorny-karabakh-conflict-in-its-fourth-decade/|access-date=2023-07-06|website=CEPS|page=8|language=en-US|quote=The continuing status dispute had immediate repercussions for the current Armenian residents of Nagorny Karabakh, as Baku pressed to keep them isolated. As before, the only international organisation allowed access to the region is the ICRC.}}</ref> The [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe]], [[Reporters Without Borders]], and the [[International Federation of Journalists]], have called on Azerbaijan to allow entry of independent organizations, including United Nations agencies.<ref name="PACE-2023a" /><ref name="RSF-2023" /><ref name="CEPA-2023" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-07-25|title=Azerbaijan: Freedom of movement for journalists in Karabakh must be guaranteed / IFJ|url=https://www.ifj.org/media-centre/news/detail/category/europe/article/azerbaijan-freedom-of-movement-for-journalists-in-karabakh-must-be-guaranteed|access-date=2023-07-25|website=www.ifj.org|language=en}}</ref> The political isolation and existential threats that Artsakh residents experience from Azerbaijan have cultivated a [[siege mentality]] in public life.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Smolnik|first=Franziska|date=2012-03-01|title=Political rule and violent conflict: Elections as 'institutional mutation' in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967067X12000128|journal=Communist and Post-Communist Studies|series=In Search of Legitimacy: Post-Soviet De Facto States Between Institutional Stabilization and Political Transformation|language=en|volume=45|issue=1|pages=153–163|doi=10.1016/j.postcomstud.2012.03.002|issn=0967-067X|s2cid=154627428|quote="A siege-mentality among Nagorno-Karabakh's inhabitants bears witness of this. It is a common theme among Nagorno-Karabakh's society that internal polarization or even conflict can potentially be exploited by the external enemy."}}</ref>
=== Threats to public utility infrastructure and entry ===
Because the [[Lachin corridor]] remains the only transportation route in and out of Artsakh,<ref name="UNHCR-2020">{{Cite web|first=|date=November–December 2020|title=Protection Monitoring Armenia Report #1|url=https://www.unhcr.org/am/wp-content/uploads/sites/123/2022/02/2020-11-12_Armenia-Protection-Monitoring-Report.pdf|access-date=5 January 2023|website=United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees|publisher=The UN Refugee Agency|quote=On 24th November 2020 the Martakert-Karvachar-Vardenis highway was closed; thus, the only operational route between NK and Armenia now is via the Lachin corridor.}}</ref> it is considered a humanitarian corridor and essential "lifeline" to Artsakh residents.<ref name="HRW-2022">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-21|title=Azerbaijan: Nagorno-Karabakh Lifeline Road Blocked|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/12/21/azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-lifeline-road-blocked|access-date=2022-12-23|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kolstø-2008">{{Cite journal|last1=Kolstø|first1=Pål|last2=Blakkisrud|first2=Helge|date=2008-05-01|title=Living with Non-recognition: State- and Nation-building in South Caucasian Quasi-states|journal=Europe-Asia Studies|volume=60|issue=3|pages=483–509, 14|doi=10.1080/09668130801948158|hdl=10852/25228|s2cid=73679623|issn=0966-8136|hdl-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|date=8 November 2020|title=Fears of civilian exodus rise as Azerbaijan advances in Karabakh|url=https://eurasianet.org/fears-of-civilian-exodus-rise-as-azerbaijan-advances-in-karabakh|access-date=2022-12-23|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Kolosov|first1=Vladimir A.|last2=Zotova|first2=Maria V.|date=2020-03-31|title=Multiple borders of Nagorno-Karabakh|journal=Geography, Environment, Sustainability|url=https://ges.rgo.ru/jour/article/view/1032|language=en|volume=13|issue=1|pages=84–91|doi=10.24057/2071-9388-2020-04|s2cid=216308577|issn=2542-1565|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="UPI-2022">{{Cite web|title=Lachin is a ghost-town -- a crowd of burned-out,...|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/07/01/Lachin-is-a-ghost-town-a-crowd-of-burned-out/2082709963200/|access-date=2022-12-17|website=UPI|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Potier|first=Tim|title=Conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia and South Ossetia: a legal appraisal|date=2001|publisher=Kluwer law international|isbn=978-90-411-1477-8|location=The Hague|pages=194}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=German|first=Tracey|date=September 2015|title=Negotiating Armenian-Azerbaijani peace: opportunities, obstacles, prospects. By Ohannes Geukjian|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1468-2346.12424|journal=International Affairs|volume=91|issue=5|page=92|doi=10.1111/1468-2346.12424|issn=0020-5850}}</ref> The Lachin corridor is also used to supply the region with all of its electricity, Internet, telephone infrastructure, and natural gas.<ref name="worldview.stratfor.com">{{Cite web|title=What to Watch for as Armenia-Azerbaijan Peace Talks Gain Momentum|url=https://worldview.stratfor.com/article/what-watch-armenia-azerbaijan-peace-talks-gain-momentum|access-date=2023-01-29|website=Stratfor}}</ref><ref name="amartikian">{{Cite web|last=Khachatryan|first=Arthur|date=2022-08-12|title=Corridor of discord: about a new road that will link Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://jam-news.net/corridor-of-discontent-the-new-road-between-armenia-and-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-01-29|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Krivosheev|first=Kirill|title=Fresh Fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh Bodes Badly for Armenia—and Russia|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/87680|access-date=2023-01-29|website=Carnegie Endowment for International Peace|language=en}}</ref> In 2017, a second and faster highway was built between Artsakh and Armenia (the [[Vardenis]]–[[Martakert]] highway), but this alternative route has been closed since Azerbaijan took control of the [[Dadivank]]-[[Sotk]] section (in [[Kalbajar]]) during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War (2020).<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-12-08|title=Millions of Dollars of Infrastructure Lost in the Karabakh War|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/474786/millions-of-dollars-of-infrastructure-lost-in-the-karabakh-war/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210423120035/https://www.civilnet.am/news/474786/millions-of-dollars-of-infrastructure-lost-in-the-karabakh-war/?lang=en|archive-date=23 April 2021|access-date=2022-12-23|website=Civilnet|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="UNHCR-2020" /> There has not been regular air transit into and out of Artsakh since the [[Stepanakert Airport]] was closed in 1990 during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War.<ref name="Kolstø-2008" /> The Artsakh government has attempted to re-open the commercial airport multiple times since it was reconstructed in 2011 but has been blocked by Azerbaijan, who warns that airplanes flying over Nagorno-Karabakh will be destroyed.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Lomsadze|first=Giorgi|date=17 March 2011|title=Azerbaijan: Flights to Nagorno Karabakh Will Be Boarding at Gunpoint|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-flights-to-nagorno-karabakh-will-be-boarding-at-gunpoint|access-date=2023-01-02|website=Eurasianet|language=en}}</ref><ref name="eurasianet.org">{{Cite web|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|date=6 January 2023|title=Under blockade, Armenians of Karabakh reopen issue of air travel|url=https://eurasianet.org/under-blockade-armenians-of-karabakh-reopen-issue-of-air-travel|access-date=2023-01-08|website=Eurasianet|language=en}}</ref>
In the first month after the end of the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War, residents complained about unstable cellular communications and problems with the Internet. The problem was somewhat rectified with the replacement of damaged sections of fiber-optic cable in the Lachin corridor through the mediation of Russian peacekeeping forces.<ref name="Узел-2023a">{{Cite web|last=Узел|first=Кавказский|title=Карабахцы пожаловались на проблемы с сотовой связью и интернетом|url=https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/370800/|access-date=2023-05-17|website=Кавказский Узел|language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Узел|first=Кавказский|title=Восстановление сотовой связи и интернета началось в Нагорном Карабахе|url=https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/357083/|access-date=2023-05-17|website=Кавказский Узел|language=ru}}</ref> However, beginning in August 2021, the problem arose again, with the problem being more acute during the daytime and for communities located close to the [[Line of Contact (Nagorno-Karabakh)|Line of Contact.]]<ref name="Узел-2023b">{{Cite web|last=Узел|first=Кавказский|title=Карабахцы сообщили о регулярных перебоях с сотовой связью|url=https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/371131/|access-date=2023-05-17|website=Кавказский Узел|language=ru}}</ref><ref name="Узел-2023a" /> Artsakh officials and experts stated that Azerbaijan had also installed mobile jamming devices which interfere with communications.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Узел|first=Кавказский|title=Власти Нагорного Карабаха объяснили перебои с сотовой связью работой азербайджанских сетей|url=https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/367534/|access-date=2023-05-17|website=Кавказский Узел|language=ru}}</ref><ref name="Узел-2023b" />
The gas connection to Artsakh has been severed three times by Azerbaijan in 2022,<ref name="Shahverdyan-2022a">{{Cite web|last=Shahverdyan|first=Lilit|date=16 December 2022|title=Gas restored to Karabakh, but road remains closed for fifth day|url=https://eurasianet.org/gas-restored-to-karabakh-but-road-remains-closed-for-fifth-day|access-date=19 December 2022|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Cricchio|first=Emilio Luciano|date=2022-03-22|title=For second time this winter, Azerbaijan cuts off supply of heating gas in Karabakh|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/654604/for-second-time-this-winter-azerbaijan-cuts-off-supply-of-heating-gas-in-karabakh/|access-date=2023-01-03|website=Civilnet|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Bulut|first=Uzay|date=2022-03-25|title=Azerbaijan Escalates its Aggression against Armenians|url=https://providencemag.com/2022/03/azerbaijan-escalates-aggression-armenians-artsakh/|access-date=2023-01-03|website=Providence|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Maghakyan|first=Simon|date=2022-04-04|title=Column: Putin's Isn't the Only Regime Leveraging Fossil Fuels for Aggression|url=https://time.com/6163908/nagorno-karabakh-gas-crisis/|url-access=registration|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404130331/https://time.com/6163908/nagorno-karabakh-gas-crisis/|archive-date=4 April 2022|access-date=2023-04-01|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref> with the longest shutoff period lasting 3 weeks.<ref name="opend2">{{Cite web|last1=Khudoyan|first1=Knar|last2=Léon|first2=Constance|date=22 April 2022|title=What Russia's invasion of Ukraine means for Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/russia-ukraine-nagorno-karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan-yerevan/|access-date=2023-01-03|website=openDemocracy|language=en}}</ref> Officials from the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|Parliamentary Council of Europe]], Armenia, and Artsakh have said that Azerbaijan can disrupt the gas supply to Artsakh on demand by means of a control valve that Azerbaijan installed in March 2020 during repair works.<ref name="CuttingOff">{{Cite web|last=Mejlumyan|first=Ani|date=22 March 2022|title=Karabakh accuses Azerbaijan of again cutting off gas supplies|url=https://eurasianet.org/karabakh-accuses-azerbaijan-of-again-cutting-off-gas-supplies|access-date=2023-01-18|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name="crisisgroup-2022">{{Cite web|date=2022-04-22|title=Nagorno-Karabakh: Seeking a Path to Peace in the Ukraine War's Shadow|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagorno-karabakh-conflict/nagorno-karabakh-seeking-path-peace-ukraine|access-date=2023-01-18|website=www.crisisgroup.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Martikian-2022">{{Cite web|last=Martikian|first=Naira|date=2022-03-22|title=What's behind new gas outages in Karabakh: technical shutdown or sabotage?|url=https://jam-news.net/whats-behind-new-gas-outages-in-karabakh-technical-shutdown-or-sabotage/|access-date=2023-01-18|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref> A [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|PACE]] report said that the observation that gas does not go beyond the village of Pekh indicates that a control valve was installed.<ref name="PACE-2023a">{{Cite web|date=2023-06-22|title=Ensuring free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor|url=https://pace.coe.int/en/files/32878/html|website=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|quote="85. Calculations of gas flow indicate that the gas goes to the village of Pekh, and not beyond that point, suggesting that a valve has been installed. The blockage can be checked with the level of gas pressure."}}</ref>
After Azerbaijan closed the Vardenis–Martakert highway in 2020, Artsakh residents expressed fear that Azerbaijan would eventually close the Lachin corridor and in 2021 unsuccessfully petitioned the [[Peacekeeping operations in Nagorno-Karabakh|Russian peacekeeping forces]] to reopen an alternative route.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Узел|first=Кавказский|title=Nagorno-Karabakh residents alerted by idea of travelling through Kelbadjar|url=https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/53487/|access-date=2023-01-05|website=Caucasian Knot}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Узел|first=Кавказский|title=Karabakh residents ask peacemakers to provide alternative link with Armenia|url=https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/53418/|access-date=2023-01-05|website=Caucasian Knot}}</ref> With the Vardenis–Martakert highway closed, Stepanakert is now a six-hour drive from the nearest accessible international airport in [[Yerevan]], the capital city of Armenia.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mejlumyan|first=Ani|date=8 April 2021|title=Karabakh's airport still waiting for takeoff|url=https://eurasianet.org/karabakhs-airport-still-waiting-for-takeoff|access-date=2023-01-05|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref> Meanwhile, Azerbaijan has built two new airports in [[Zangilan]] and [[Fuzuli (city)|Fuzuli]], located in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, since Artsakh forces surrendered them in 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Isayev|first=Heydar|date=21 October 2022|title=Azerbaijan opens its second international airport in Karabakh|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-opens-its-second-international-airport-in-karabakh|access-date=2023-01-08|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name="eurasianet.org" />
In September 2021, following increased tension with Iran, Azerbaijan accused Iranian drivers of delivering supplies to Artsakh and later arrested two drivers for "illegally" entering Azerbaijan.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Isayev|first1=Heydar|last2=Mejlumyan|first2=Ani|date=2021-09-14|title=Azerbaijan starts charging Iranian trucks supplying Armenia|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-starts-charging-iranian-trucks-supplying-armenia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Azerbaijan, Iran clash over 'illegal' transit, military drills|url=https://amwaj.media/media-monitor/tensions-erupts-between-iran-and-azerbaijan-over-trucks-and-a-military-drill|access-date=2023-07-26|website=Amwaj.media|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=RFE/RL|title=Azerbaijan Releases Iranian Truck Drivers At Center Of Diplomatic Dispute|language=en|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-iran-truckers-dispute/31523027.html|access-date=2023-07-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Khulian|first=Artak|date=2021-09-13|title=Iranian Trucks Entering Armenia Stopped By Azerbaijan|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31458354.html|access-date=2023-07-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Motamedi|first=Maziar|title=Iran army holds drill near Azerbaijan border amid tensions|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/1/iran-army-holds-drill-near-azerbaijan-border-amid-tensions|access-date=2023-07-26|website=www.aljazeera.com|language=en}}</ref>
In February 2022, Aliyev and Putin signed a "Declaration of Allied Interaction" which elevated ties between their countries on the basis of "mutual respect for ... territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of the two countries." The agreement also obliges Azerbaijan and Russia to "refrain from any actions, including those carried out through third states, directed against each other."<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ռ/Կ|first=«Ազատություն»|date=2022-02-22|title=Russia, Azerbaijan Agree On 'Allied' Ties|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/31717311.html|access-date=2023-07-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Azerbaijan's 'neutrality' and the Declaration of Allied Interaction with Russia|url=https://oc-media.org/features/azerbaijans-neutrality-and-the-declaration-of-allied-interaction-with-russia/|access-date=2023-07-11|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref>
In August 2022, Azerbaijani forces took control of territory within and around the [[Lachin District]],<ref name="CancelsDrills" /><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Isayev|first1=Heydar|last2=Kucera|first2=Joshua|last3=Mejlumyan|first3=Ani|date=2022-09-04|title=In renewed fighting, Azerbaijan captures additional territory in Karabakh|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/in-renewed-fighting-azerbaijan-captures-additional-territory-in-karabakh|quote=Azerbaijan's military said that it had captured a height called Saribaba, which lies just north of the Lachin corridor, the road that leads from Armenia into Karabakh.}}</ref> excluding the five km-wide Lachin corridor, which at the time was controlled by Russian peacekeepers. As part of the ceasefire agreement, parts of the highway were moved to avoid the cities of Lachin and Shusha, but still to be controlled by Russian peacekeeping forces. Artsakh authorities gave the residents of the villages along the corridor 20 days notice to evacuate.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mejlumyan|first=Ani|date=10 August 2022|title=Karabakh authorities demand villagers quickly evacuate ahead of handover to Azerbaijan|url=https://eurasianet.org/karabakh-authorities-demand-villagers-quickly-evacuate-ahead-of-handover-to-azerbaijan|access-date=2023-01-29|website=Eurasianet|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Gavin-2022a">{{Cite web|last=Gavin|first=Gabriel|date=28 November 2022|title=Fears for new Nagorno-Karabakh crisis as Azerbaijan threatens key road link|url=https://eurasianet.org/fears-for-new-nagorno-karabakh-crisis-as-azerbaijan-threatens-key-road-link|access-date=2023-01-29|website=Eurasianet|language=en}}</ref> While Aliyev promised that long-term Armenian Lachin residents would be treated as citizens, he branded the remaining residents as "illegal settlers" and demanded that they be removed.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Service|first=RFE/RL's Azerbaijani|title=Azerbaijani Forces Take Over Strategic Town Linking Armenia With Nagorno-Karabakh|language=en|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-lacin-nagorno-karabakh-control-/32006090.html|access-date=2023-04-06|quote=Baku forcibly took control of several strategic heights near the disputed region, and Aliyev said in a public statement that people who "illegally settled" in Lachin, Zabux, and Sus should leave the area "on their own will".}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Illegally settled people should be removed from the city of Lachin, the villages of Zabukh and Sus: Azerbaijan's President|url=https://apa.az/en/official-news/illegally-settled-people-should-be-removed-from-the-city-of-lachin-the-villages-of-zabukh-and-sus-azerbaijans-president-382718|access-date=2023-01-29|website=Apa.az|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Natiqqizi|first1=Ulkar|last2=Shahverdyan|first2=Lilit|date=26 August 2022|title=Azerbaijan retakes control of three Karabakh settlements|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-retakes-control-of-three-karabakh-settlements|access-date=2023-01-29|website=Eurasianet|language=en}}</ref> Several analysts consider it unlikely that Azerbaijan will allow electricity, gas, and Internet infrastructure which currently exists along the Lachin corridor to be built along the new highway.<ref name="amartikian"/><ref name="worldview.stratfor.com"/>
=== Prelude ===
In December 2022, the Azerbaijan government inaugurated its "Great Return" program, which ostensibly promotes the settlement of ethnic Azerbaijanis who once lived in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Aliyev: "The great return begins"|url=https://www.commonspace.eu/news/aliyev-great-return-begins|access-date=2023-01-25|website=commonspace.eu|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kucera-2023b">{{Cite web|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|date=17 January 2023|title=Azerbaijan seeks "Great Return" of refugees to Armenia|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-seeks-great-return-of-refugees-to-armenia|access-date=2023-01-25|website=Eurasianet|language=en}}</ref> As part of this program, a natural gas pipeline will be built between Agdam and Stapanakert which will begin operation in 2025 which is also when the Russian peacekeeping forces' mandate in Nagorno-Karabakh ends.<ref name="Rozovsky-2023">{{Cite news|last=Rozovsky|first=Liza|date=17 January 2023|title=Armenia and Azerbaijan Are at a Boiling Point. Another Violent Conflict Is Just a Matter of Time|language=en|work=Haaretz|url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/asia-and-australia/2023-01-17/ty-article-magazine/.premium/armenia-and-azerbaijan-are-at-a-boiling-point-another-conflict-is-just-a-matter-of-time/00000185-bfa9-d055-abad-bfe9fdce0000|access-date=2023-01-25}}</ref>
Azerbaijan has drawn parallels between the Lachin corridor and the "[[Zangezur corridor]]," a concept for an extraterritorial corridor through Armenia which Azerbaijan claims was part of the 2020 ceasefire agreement.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|date=20 January 2023|title=Armenia and Azerbaijan stalled in negotiations over "corridor"|url=https://eurasianet.org/armenia-and-azerbaijan-stalled-in-negotiations-over-corridor|access-date=2023-01-25|website=Eurasianet|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Rozovsky-2023" /> Since the end of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, Azerbaijan has increasingly promoted [[Western Azerbaijan (political concept)|irredentist claims to Armenian territory which it describes as "Western Azerbaijan"]] and has [[Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis (2021–present)#Armenian territory occupied by Azerbaijan|occupied sections of Armenia]] proper (distinct from Artsakh).<ref>{{cite news|last=Fabbro|first=Robin|date=25 December 2022|title=Aliyev says Yerevan 'historically' Azerbaijani|url=https://oc-media.org/aliyev-says-yerevan-historically-azerbaijani/|work=[[OC Media]]|access-date=25 December 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101100333/https://oc-media.org/aliyev-says-yerevan-historically-azerbaijani/|archive-date=1 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="Kucera-2023b" /><ref>{{Cite news|last1=|first1=|date=26 December 2022|title=Aliyev Again Invokes 'Historic Azeri Lands' In Armenia|language=hy|website=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32194098.html|access-date=2023-01-21}}</ref> Various analysts consider these actions and the blockade, itself, to be a coercive bargaining strategy aimed at extorting Armenians to relinquish control of Artsakh and concede the Zangezur corridor.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Broers|first=Laurence|date=5 August 2021|title=Perspectives {{!}} Augmented Azerbaijan? The return of Azerbaijani irredentism|url=https://eurasianet.org/perspectives-augmented-azerbaijan-the-return-of-azerbaijani-irredentism|access-date=2023-01-21|website=Eurasianet|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=The rise and fall of Azerbaijan's "Goycha-Zangazur Republic"|url=https://eurasianet.org/the-rise-and-fall-of-azerbaijans-goycha-zangazur-republic|access-date=2023-01-21|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Eurasianet-2023c">{{Cite news|date=2023-07-26|title=Russia says Karabakh Armenians need to accept Azerbaijani rule|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/russia-says-karabakh-armenians-need-to-accept-azerbaijani-rule}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Grigoryan|first=Tigran|date=27 January 2023|title=The War in Ukraine and the Armenian-Azerbaijani Conflict: The West Needs To Re-evaluate Its Approach|url=https://www.boell.de/en/2023/01/27/war-ukraine-and-armenian-azerbaijani-conflict-west-needs-re-evaluate-its-approach|access-date=2023-02-10|website=Heinrich Böll Stiftung|language=en}}</ref>
Speaking about Azerbaijan's demand for the Zangezur corridor, a senior Azerbaijani official reported to [[Eurasianet]] in November 2022, "What if we were to install a [border] post at the entrance of Lachin and finish the whole process? How can you breathe with no air?"<ref name="Gavin-2022a" /> Two weeks before the ongoing blockade started, the prime minister of Armenia said at a cabinet meeting, "The President of Azerbaijan is trying to create fictitious grounds for closing the Lachin Corridor, encircling the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, and subjecting them to genocide and deportation under the pretext that Armenia is not fulfilling its obligations."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-11-12|title=Nikol Pashinyan on Lachin Corridor, Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians and Peace Agreement|url=https://caucasuswatch.de/en/news/nikol-pashinyan-on-lachin-corridor-nagorno-karabakh-armenians-and-peace-agreement.html|access-date=2023-01-28|website=Caucasus Watch|language=en}}</ref><ref name="pminister">{{Cite web|title=If anyone thinks that the peace agenda is the "peaceful annihilation" of the Republic of Armenia or Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh, they are seriously mistaken. Prime Minister's speech at the Cabinet meeting|url=https://www.primeminister.am/en/statements-and-messages/item/2022/11/10/Cabinet-meeting-Speech/|access-date=2023-01-28|website=www.primeminister.am|language=en}}</ref>
==Blockade timeline==
[[File:Protesters' signs during the 2022 blockade of the Lachin corridor 03.jpg|250px|thumb|right|[[Russian language|Russian-language]] signs used by eco-activists during the blockade]]
[[File:Protest_in_front_of_the_UN_office_in_Armenia_(2022_Nagorno-Karabakh_Blockade).webp|thumb|250px|Armenians protesting in front of the UN office in [[Yerevan]]]]
=== 2022 events ===
'''3 December''' — [[Republic of Artsakh|Artsakh]] information headquarters reported that a group of Azerbaijanis blocked the [[Lachin corridor]] between [[Stepanakert]] and [[Goris]]at at the intersection around [[Shusha]]–[[Dashalty]].<ref>{{Cite news|last1=|first1=|date=3 December 2022|title=Մի խումբ ադրբեջանցիներ փակել են Ստեփանակերտ-Գորիս մայրուղին. Արցախի տեղեկատվական շտաբ|language=hy|website=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32160043.html|access-date=13 December 2022}}</ref> The road was later reopened after being closed for four hours, but Azerbaijan announced that it would send specialists to the location of the Russian peacekeepers.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=|first1=|date=3 December 2022|title=Բաքուն պնդում է, թե մասնագետներ էր ուղարկել ռուս խաղաղապահների տեղակայման վայր|language=hy|website=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32160161.html|access-date=13 December 2022}}</ref>
'''10 December''' — the Ministries of Economy and Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan issued a joint statement indicating that they would be initiating environmental monitoring in the territory of the Republic of Artsakh.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Musayelyan|first=Lusine|date=10 December 2022|title=Բաքուն հայտարարում է, թե Արցախում "բնապահպանական դիտարկումներ է սկսում"|language=hy|website=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32170584.html|access-date=13 December 2022}}</ref> On the same day, a group of Azerbaijanis tried to enter the Kashen mine, but the mine's security staff did not allow it.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Ադրբեջանցիները փորձել են մտնել Մարտակերտի Կաշենի հանքավայր, անվտանգությունը չի թույլատրել. Տիգրան Պետրոսյան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32170799.html|access-date=13 December 2022|website=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|date=10 December 2022|language=hy|last1=Բադալյան|first1=Սուսան}}</ref><ref name="eurasianet">{{Cite web|last1=Isayev|first1=Heydar|last2=Shahverdyan|first2=Lilit|date=12 December 2022|title=Azerbaijanis again block the road to Karabakh|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijanis-again-block-the-road-to-karabakh|website=Eurasianet}}</ref>
'''12 December''' — a group of Azerbaijanis calling themselves environmentalists blocked the Lachin corridor. According to the group, they are protesting the "illegal exploitation" of mineral deposits in the region.<ref name="Gavin-2022" /><ref name="BBC2" /><ref name="eurasianet" /> The participants placed tents in the middle of the road.<ref name="BBC2" /> According to Azerbaijani media, environmental groups protested after being denied access to the [[Drmbon, Nagorno-Karabakh|Drmbon]] and Kashin mines and demanded a meeting with the commander of the Russian peacekeepers at the time, Andrei Volkov.<ref name="volkov">{{Cite news|last1=|first1=|date=12 December 2022|title=Մի խումբ ադրբեջանցիներ փակել են Ստեփանակերտ-Գորիս մայրուղին, վրաններ տեղադրել|language=hy|website=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32172476.html|access-date=13 December 2022}}</ref> [[Human Rights Watch]] reported that Russian peacekeeping forces also barricaded the road to prevent further escalation of the situation if the participants were to advance to the mines in Artsakh.<ref name="HRW-2022" />
'''13–16 December''' — Azerbaijan cut off the gas supply from Armenia to Artsakh.<ref name="Carnegie">{{cite web|author1=Krivosheev|first=Kirill|date=2022-12-15|title=Russian Peacekeepers Find Themselves Sidelined in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://carnegieendowment.org/politika/88651|access-date=20 December 2022|website=[[Carnegie Endowment for International Peace]]}}</ref><ref name="BBC2" /><ref name="Shahverdyan-2022a" /> The Azerbaijani gas supply agency Azeriqaz denied involvement.<ref name="Azəriqaz-2022">{{Cite news|date=14 December 2022|title="Azəriqaz" İB erməni mətbuatının dezinformasiyasına cavab verdi|language=az|publisher=Azəriqaz|url=https://azeriqaz.az/az/news/1799|access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref> On the evening of 13 December Azerbaijani media reported that Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan and the police arrived to the area of the protests to "ensure the security of the participants of the action".<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kazimoglu|first=Mirmahmud|date=13 December 2022|title=Protest on Shusha-Khankandi road: Police officers arrive in area|url=https://report.az/en/karabakh/protest-on-shusha-khankandi-road-police-arrived-in-area/|access-date=2023-01-16|website=Report News Agency|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Laçın-Xankəndi yolundakı aksiyanın iştirakçıları mundialın final matçını izləyirlər|url=https://apa.az/az/daxili-siyaset/lacin-xankendi-yolundaki-aksiyanin-istirakcilari-mundialin-final-matcini-izleyirler-738127|access-date=19 December 2022|website=Apa.az|language=az}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-12-28|title='War is not over': Tensions simmer over Karabakh road blockade|url=https://www.eaglenews.ph/war-is-not-over-tensions-simmer-over-karabakh-road-blockade/|access-date=2023-01-25|website=Eagle News|language=en-US|quote="Azerbaijani servicemen stand guard at a checkpoint at the Lachin corridor"}}</ref>
'''14 December''' — Azerbaijani authorities claimed that it was the Russian peacekeeping forces which were blockading the corridor.<ref name="Узел-2022">{{Cite news|last=Узел|first=Кавказский|title=Week in the Caucasus: overview of main events on December 12–18, 2022|url=https://www.eng.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/61869/|access-date=2023-01-05|website=Caucasian Knot}}</ref>
'''16 December''' — the alleged "ecoactivists" added to their list of demands "restoration of control by all state structures of Azerbaijan, including the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Border Service, and the State Customs Committee" along the Lachin corridor.<ref name="ahmedbeyli">{{Cite web|last=Ahmedbeyli|first=Samira|date=2022-12-15|title=Fourth day of protests by Azerbaijani activists, JAMnews|url=https://jam-news.net/this-is-putins-pressure-on-pashinyan-opinion-from-baku-on-the-causes-of-the-events-in-karabakh/|access-date=2022-12-23|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref> One of the Azerbaijani self-described protesters  Dilara Efendiyeva created a hotline to appeal for assistance in crossing the blockade; however, this has been dismissed as ingenuine or propaganda by many Armenians.<ref name="DragsOn">{{Cite web|title=As Azerbaijani blockade drags on, Azerbaijan denies that it's a blockade|url=https://eurasianet.org/as-azerbaijani-blockade-drags-on-azerbaijan-denies-that-its-a-blockade|access-date=2023-01-05|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref> On the same day, 40,000–70,000 Artsakh residents rallied in the capital Stepanakert in protest of the blockade,<ref>{{Cite news|title=Thousands Rally In Karabakh Against Azerbaijani Blockade|language=en|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/armenian-karabakh-thousands-protest-stepanakert-azerbaijani-blockade/32192960.html|access-date=2022-12-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Avetisyan|first1=Ani|last2=Vanyan|first2=Marut|date=2022-10-31|title=Thousands rally in Nagorno-Karabakh over fears for region's future|url=https://oc-media.org/thousands-rally-in-nagorno-karabakh-over-fears-for-regions-future/|access-date=2022-12-26|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Gray-2023b" /> making it one of the largest protests in Nagorno-Karabakh since the [[Karabakh movement|1988 Karabakh movement]].
'''26 December''' — Armenia's Security Council secretary Armen Grigoryan stated that "Armenia is being forced to provide an extraterritorial corridor [referring to the [[Zangezur corridor|Zangezur Corridor]]] and join the [[Union State]]," a view which Moscow later denied.<ref name="Jamnews-2022a">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-27|title="Lachin corridor may open as a result of compromises" – political scientist|url=https://jam-news.net/pashinyan-putin-meeting-in-st-petersburg/|access-date=2023-01-10|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="iranpress-2023">{{Cite web|title=Kremlin slams Armenia claims on joining Russia-Belarus union|url=http://iranpress.com/content/71204/kremlin-slams-armenia-claims-joining-russia-belarus-union|access-date=2023-01-10|website=iranpress.com|language=en}}</ref> This perception was echoed by other Armenian politicians and political analysts who claimed that Russia was using the blockade to obtain concessions from Armenia.<ref name="MassisPost-2022b">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-30|title=Russia Denies Reports on Pressuring Armenia to Join Union State|url=https://massispost.com/2022/12/russia-denies-reports-on-pressuring-armenia-to-join-union-state/|access-date=2023-01-10|website=MassisPost|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="ahmedbeyli" />
'''27 December''' — Azerbaijan specified that the blockade would be lifted if state monitors were permitted entry into the mining sites used by Artsakh.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-12-28|title=Azerbaijan demands Karabakh mine access as condition to end protests blocking road|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/azerbaijan/news/azerbaijan-demands-karabakh-mine-access-as-condition-to-end-protests-blocking-road/|access-date=2023-01-06|website=www.euractiv.com|language=en-GB}}</ref>
'''28 December''' — Artsakh authorities halted mining operations at Kashen, pending an "international ecological examination" to disprove Azerbaijani claims of environmental damage.<ref name="MassisPost-2022a">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-29|title=Karabakh Authorities Suspend Mining Operations at Kashen Copper Deposit|url=https://massispost.com/2022/12/karabakh-authorities-suspend-mining-operations-at-kashen-copper-deposit/|access-date=2022-12-29|website=MassisPost|language=en-US}}</ref> The Kashen mine, operated by Base Metals, is Artsakh's largest corporate taxpayer and private employer.<ref name="MassisPost-2022a" /><ref name="MassisPost-2022b" />
'''29 December'''  — the Armenian prime minister criticized the [[Peacekeeping operations in Nagorno-Karabakh|Russian peacekeeping forces]] for not maintaining open transport in and out of Artsakh and suggested the role be delegated to a United Nations peacekeeping mission,<ref name="Reuters">{{Cite news|date=2022-12-29|title=Kremlin says it is concerned about Karabakh blockade after Armenian criticism|language=en|work=Reuters|editor-last=Liffey|editor-first=Kevin|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/kremlin-says-it-is-concerned-about-karabakh-road-blockade-will-continue-talks-2022-12-29/|url-status=live|url-access=registration|access-date=2022-12-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230207083956/https://www.reuters.com/world/kremlin-says-it-is-concerned-about-karabakh-road-blockade-will-continue-talks-2022-12-29/|archive-date=7 February 2023}}</ref> a suggestion that Azerbaijan rejected.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-01-11|title=Conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh: Pashinyan takes on Moscow|url=https://newsingermany.com/conflict-over-nagorno-karabakh-pashinyan-takes-on-moscow/|access-date=2023-01-11|website=News in Germany|language=en-US}}</ref>
'''31 December''' — efforts to get the United Nations Security Council to issue a joint statement on the blockade were not successful. The exact reason was unknown with responsibility being variously attributed to Azerbaijan, France, and Russia: however, Azerbaijan's ambassador to Belgium and the European Union, [[Vaqif Sadiqov]], credited additional parties for not approving the resolution: "Words of gratitude go to Albania, Russia, UAE & UK! A great job of AZ diplomats!" he wrote in a tweet.<ref name="Kucera-2023a">{{Cite web|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|date=4 January 2023|title=UN Security Council opts not to issue statement on Karabakh blockade|url=https://eurasianet.org/un-security-council-opts-not-to-issue-statement-on-karabakh-blockade|access-date=2023-01-04|website=Eurasianet|language=en}}</ref>
=== 2023 events ===
'''5 January''' — the parliament of Artsakh called on the US, France and Russia to take action to open the corridor or begin the operation of an airlift to Stepanakert's airport to prevent an "urgent humanitarian crisis".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nankr.am/hy/5076|title=ԱՀ Ազգային ժողովի նախագահ Արթուր Թովմասյանի կոչը ԵԱՀԿ Մինսկի խմբի համանախագահող երկրների առաջնորդներին}}</ref> Artsakh's state minister, Ruben Vardanyan, said "Pressure from international organizations, European countries and the United States would have great significance. The only solution which will allow us to live normally in this situation in the winter months is the possibility of opening an air bridge."<ref name="eurasianet.org" />
'''8 January''' — authorities in Artsakh announced that kindergartens and schools with extended hours will be shut down indefinitely beginning on 9 January due to shortages caused by the blockade.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kindergartens in blockaded Nagorno Karabakh shut down indefinitely over food shortage|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1101230/|access-date=2023-04-01|website=armenpress.am|date=8 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
'''9 January''' — Artsakh announced that coupons would be issued to people in order to purchase scarce supplies.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://factor.am/597745.html|title=Արցախում պարենային ապրանքների համար կտրոնային համակարգ կներդրվի․ Ռուբեն Վարդանյանի ղեկավարությամբ օպերատիվ շտաբում նիստ է անցկացվել &#124; Ֆակտոր տեղեկատվական կենտրոն}}</ref> The government issued a rationing system to commence on 20 January of buckwheat, rice, sugar, pasta and cooking oil.<ref name="SuppliesDwindle">{{Cite web|last=Qiblawi|first=Tamara|date=2023-01-12|title='Potatoes are a luxury': Vital supplies dwindle as 'eco-activists' blockade a breakaway region guarded by Russia|url=https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/12/europe/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-lachin-intl/index.html|access-date=2023-04-01|website=CNN|language=en}}</ref>
'''10 January''' — Armenian prime minister [[Nikol Pashinyan|Pashinyan]] denied claims that Moscow had pressured Armenia to join the [[Union State|Union State of Russian and Belarus]] but said "the reality isn't as simple as it seems. Sometimes, it's not the text but the subtext that needs to be considered."<ref name="CancelsDrills">{{Cite web|last=Demourian|first=Avet|date=10 January 2023|title=Armenia cancels military drills, widening rift with Moscow|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/armenia-cancels-mlitary-drills-widening-rift-moscow-96334475|access-date=2023-01-10|website=ABC News|language=en|quote=Lachin province, which lies between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, was the last of the three areas on the rim of Nagorno-Karabakh that Armenian forces surrendered in December 2020.}}</ref> On the same day President of Azerbaijan, [[Ilham Aliyev]] in a press conference talking about Lachin corridor stated that: "whoever does not want to become our citizen, the road is not closed, it is open. They can leave, they can go by themselves, no-one will hinder them."<ref name="Trend.Az-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-01-10|title=Whoever does not want to become our citizen, road is not closed, it is open – President Ilham Aliyev|url=https://en.trend.az/azerbaijan/politics/3693367.html|access-date=2023-01-11|website=Trend.Az|language=en}}</ref><ref name="BBC News-2023a">{{Cite news|title=Ильхам Алиев – армянам Карабаха: принимайте гражданство Азербайджана или уезжайте|language=ru|work=BBC News Русская служба|url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-64241011|access-date=2023-01-12}}</ref>
'''10 January''' — the electricity operator of Artsakh reported that the high-voltage power line supplying electricity to Artsakh from Armenia was damaged on the Aghavno-Berdzor section of the corridor under Azerbaijani control and that Azerbaijan is hindering restoration works on the line.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Artsakh's power supply line damaged|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1101331/|access-date=2023-01-11|website=armenpress.am|date=10 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref> In addition, the Armenian Prime Minister announced that the planned [[CSTO]] military exercises would not be held in Armenia due to the situation, while Moscow downplayed Armenia's refusal to host the alliance.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Light|first1=Felix|last2=Bagirova|first2=Nailia|date=10 January 2023|title=Armenia says concerned by Russian peacekeepers' role in blockade row|url=https://news.yahoo.com/armenias-pashinyan-denies-criticising-russian-102943647.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230401081541/https://news.yahoo.com/armenias-pashinyan-denies-criticising-russian-102943647.html|archive-date=1 April 2023|access-date=2023-04-01|website=Yahoo News|language=en-US}}</ref>
'''12 January''' — there were widespread Internet outages in Artsakh that lasted an hour and caused fear among local residents.<ref name="BlackoutsRationing">{{cite news|last=Shahverdyan|first=Lilit|date=12 January 2023|title=Blackouts and food rationing as Karabakh blockade enters second month|language=en|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/blackouts-and-food-rationing-as-karabakh-blockade-enters-second-month|access-date=17 January 2023|quote=But the supplies are meager compared to the pre-blockade delivery of 12,000 tons of goods monthly, and barely meet the needs of the local population, which Armenian sources estimate at around 120,000.}}</ref> In a Stepanakert-Yerevan online conference, then State Minister Vardanyan stated "We have three choices: to become citizens of Azerbaijan, to leave, or to overcome this situation. This is the struggle for life, we must do everything in our power."<ref name="BlackoutsRationing" />
'''17 January''' — Artsakh's InfoCenter reported that the only gas pipeline delivering gas to Artsakh from Armenia was interrupted again.<ref name="CutsGasSupply">{{Cite web|last=Ghazanchyan|first=Siranush|date=17 January 2023|title=Azerbaijan cuts gas supply to Artsakh, again|url=https://en.armradio.am/2023/01/17/azerbaijan-cuts-off-gas-supply-to-artsakh-again/|access-date=2023-01-18|website=Public Radio of Armenia|language=en-US}}</ref>
'''18 January''' — Artsakh's ombudsman reported that Azerbaijanis halted a car escorted by Russian peacekeepers that was carrying children returning to Stepanakert. The Azerbaijanis broke into the car while filming the incident, causing a commotion with&nbsp;one of the children fainting.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ghazanchyan|first=Siranush|date=18 January 2023|title=Nineteen children stranded in Armenia return to Stepanakert, Ombudsman says|url=https://en.armradio.am/2023/01/18/nineteen-children-stranded-in-armenia-return-to-stepanakert-ombudsman-says/|access-date=5 February 2022|website=[[Public Radio of Armenia]]}}</ref>
'''19 January''' — the [[European Parliament]] adopted a resolution condemning the blockade, describing it as a humanitarian crisis and a violation of the [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement|2020 ceasefire declaration]]. It also called for Azerbaijan to "protect the rights of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh and refrain from its inflammatory rhetoric that calls for discrimination against Armenians and urges Armenians to leave Nagorno-Karabakh." The resolution also "condemns the inaction of Russian 'peacekeepers'; considers that their replacement with OSCE international peacekeepers, under a UN mandate, should be negotiated urgently"<ref name="GHEORGHE">{{Cite web|last1=von Cramon-Taubadel|first1=Viola|last2=Kouloglou|first2=Stelios|last3=Castaldo|first3=Fabio Massimo|last4=Hajšel|first4=Robert|last5=Incir|first5=Evin|last6=Kaljurand|first6=Marina|last7=Marques|first7=Pedro|last8=Santos|first8=Isabel|last9=Bielan|first9=Adam|title=Joint Motion for a Resolution on the humanitarian consequences of the blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RC-9-2023-0075_EN.html|access-date=2023-01-19|website=European Parliament|language=en|id=RC-B9-0075/2023 |first10=Carlo |last10=Fidanza|first11=Charlie|last11=Weimers|first12=Angel|last12=Dzhambazki|first13=Assita|last13=Kanko|first14=Joachim Stanisław|last14=Brudzinski|first15=Elżbieta|last15=Kruk|first16=Anna|last16=Zalewska|first17=Eugen|last17=Jurzyca|first18=Bert-Jan|last18=Ruissen|first19=Emmanouil|last19=Fragkos |first20=Frédérique |last20=Ries|first21=Nicolae|last21=Ștefănuță|first22=Izaskun|last22=Bilbao Barandica|first23=Michal|last23=Šimečka|first24=Dita|last24=Charanzová|first25=Petras|last25=Auštrevičius|first26=Javier|last26=Hart|first27=Urmas|last27=Paet|first28=Hilde|last28=Vautmans|first29=Ramona|last29=Strugariu |first30=Karin |last30=Karlsbro|first31=Svenja|last31=Hahn|first32=Klemen|last32=Grošelj|first33=Olivier|last33=Chastel|first34=Nathalie|last34=Loiseau|first35=Bernard|last35=Guetta|first36=Karen|last36=Melchior|first37=Katalin|last37=Cseh|first38=Vlad|last38=Gheorghe}}</ref>
'''8 February''' — the Russian Foreign Ministry rejected suggestions that EU or UN peacekeepers could be brought in.<ref name="Turp-Balazs-2023">{{Cite web|last=Turp-Balazs|first=Craig|date=2023-02-14|title=In Nagorno-Karabakh, Russian peacekeepers are failing to fulfil obligations|url=https://emerging-europe.com/news/in-nagorno-karabakh-russian-peacekeepers-are-failing-to-fulfil-obligations/|access-date=2023-02-15|website=Emerging Europe|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="caucasuswatch-2023c">{{Cite web|date=2023-02-10|title=Russian Official Opposes Sending UN Mission to Karabakh|url=https://caucasuswatch.de/en/news/russian-official-opposes-sending-un-mission-to-karabakh.html|access-date=2023-02-15|website=Caucasus Watch|language=en}}</ref>
'''18 February''' — a panel discussion was held on the sidelines of the 2023 Munich Security Conference. The Prime Minister of Armenia [[Nikol Pashinyan|Pashinyan]] discussed the humanitarian consequences of Azerbaijan's blockade.<ref>{{Cite web|last=ahmedbeyli|first=samira|date=2023-02-18|title=Pashinyan-Aliyev-Blinken meeting in Munich|url=https://jam-news.net/pashinyan-aliyev-blinken-in-munich/|access-date=2023-03-05|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-02-20|title=Ilham Aliyev and Nikol Pashinyan Participate in Munich Security Conference|url=https://caucasuswatch.de/en/news/ilham-aliyev-and-nikol-pashinyan-participate-in-munich-security-conference.html|access-date=2023-03-05|website=Caucasus Watch|language=en}}</ref> The live streaming broadcast was interrupted on various official Azeri state media channels right after Pashinyan talked about how the elections in Armenia after the second Nagorno-Karabakh War were held in a democratic and free competitive environment.<ref>{{Cite web|last=yazılar|first=Son|date=2023-02-22|title=Who interrupted the live streaming from Munich Security Conference? We explain|url=https://mikroskopmedia.com/en/2023/02/22/who-interrupted-the-live-streaming-from-munich-security-conference-we-explain/|access-date=2023-03-05|website=Mikroskop|language=en-US}}</ref>
'''22 February''' — the [[International Court of Justice]] ordered that Azerbaijan take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.<ref name="ICJ-2023" />
'''13 March''' — the former Prime Minister of Denmark and [[NATO Secretary General]], [[Anders Fogh Rasmussen]], visited the Lachin corridor stated that the Azerbaijani government is backing the blockade while using the pretext of an environmental protest. He proposed European and American military support to Armenia as an emerging democracy "to prevent another significant conflict or even ethnic cleansing in the our [the West's] backyard."<ref name="Rasmussen-2023">{{Cite web|last=Rasmussen|first=Anders Fogh|date=2023-03-24|title=The Other Conflict on Europe's Doorstep {{!}} by Anders Fogh Rasmussen|url=https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/azerbaijan-aggression-against-armenia-nagorno-karabakh-blockade-by-anders-fogh-rasmussen-2023-03|access-date=2023-03-28|website=Project Syndicate|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kucera-2023c">{{Cite news|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|date=15 March 2023|title=Ex-NATO head visits Armenia, calling for Western military aid|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/ex-nato-head-visits-armenia-calling-for-western-military-aid}}</ref>
'''25 March''' — in violation of [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement|the ceasefire agreement]], Azerbaijani forces occupied new positions in Nagorno-Karabakh and closed an alternative dirt road that certain Armenians were using to bypass the blockade at the Lachin corridor.<ref name="Gray-2023a">{{Cite web|last=Gray|first=Sébastien|date=2023-03-26|title=Azerbaijan Makes Advances in Artsakh, Violating Ceasefire|url=https://theatlasnews.co/conflict/2023/03/25/azerbaijan-makes-advances-in-artsakh-violating-ceasefire/|access-date=2023-03-31|website=Atlas News|language=en-US|quote=Russian peacekeepers have been notified of the latest incident, and have stated they are presently in talks with Azerbaijan to withdraw from the area, and "stop engineering work" that Azerbaijan began after taking the position.}}</ref><ref name="Avetisyan-2023b">{{Cite web|last1=Avetisyan|first1=Ani|last2=Aghayev|first2=Ismi|date=2023-03-26|title=Azerbaijan 'breaches line of contact' seizing positions in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://oc-media.org/azerbaijan-breaches-line-of-contact-seizing-positions-in-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-03-28|website=OC Media|language=en-US|quote=The Russian Defence Ministry said Azerbaijani troops had 'breached' the line of contact in violation of the 9 November ceasefire agreement, which brought an end to the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War. They said Azerbaijani forces had taken up new positions near Shusha.}}</ref><ref name="Stepanian-2023a">{{Cite news|last=Stepanian|first=Ruzanna|date=2023-03-27|title=Bypass Road In Karabakh Not Used After Azeri Advance|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32336569.html|access-date=2023-03-28|quote=Azerbaijani forces continued to occupy on Monday a strategic hill near the Lachin corridor seized by them at the weekend, further complicating Nagorno-Karabakh's communication with Armenia and the outside world...the high ground occupied by Azerbaijani soldiers overlooks the barely passable bypass road leading to the Armenian border.}}</ref><ref name="ahmedbeyli-2023b">{{Cite web|last=ahmedbeyli|first=samira|date=2023-03-27|title=Azerbaijan takes control of country roads in Karabakh|url=https://jam-news.net/azerbaijan-takes-control-of-country-roads-in-karabakh/|access-date=2023-03-28|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref> Azerbaijan ignored calls from the Russian peacekeepers for Azeri forces to return to their original positions.<ref name="caucasuswatch-2023b">{{Cite web|date=2023-04-25|title=Treading a Tightrope on the Armenian Border: Reviewing the First Two Months of the EU's New Mission in the South Caucasus|url=https://caucasuswatch.de/en/insights/treading-a-tightrope-on-the-armenian-border-reviewing-the-first-two-months-of-the-eus-new-mission-in-the-south-caucasus.html|access-date=2023-06-12|website=Caucasus Watch|language=en|quote=The following week saw a reconfiguration of road links and military positions in the Lachin Corridor, with Azerbaijani forces constructing a new military post, taking control of strategic heights, ignoring Russian calls to return to their original locations, and seizing land in Armenia around the new road leading from the villages of Tegh and Kornidzor towards Karabakh.}}</ref>
'''29 March''' — [[Laurent Wauquiez]], the president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional Council of France, visited the Lachin corridor as part of a French delegation to Armenia. He said the blockade marks the return of pan-Turkism to the 21st century.<ref>{{Cite web|last=admin-frcaucase|date=2023-03-30|title=Laurent Wauquiez s'est rendu au corridor de Latchine|url=https://caucasefrance.com/2023/03/laurent-wauquiez-sest-rendu-au-corridor-de-latchine/|access-date=2023-04-02|website=Caucase de France|language=fr-FR|quote=Oui, au XXIe siècle, une prison s'est refermée sur un peuple pour le détruire. Je pense bien sûr au génocide arménien, et je me dis que les mêmes méthodes se reproduisent. Ce sont les mêmes bourreaux à la même œuvre. Ils veulent affamer une population pour l'obliger à nouveau à quitter son territoire. C'est effrayant que cela recommence.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=France|first=Centre|date=2023-03-30|title=Politique - Laurent Wauquiez en Arménie pour dire "qu'il n'y a pas seulement l'Ukraine"|url=https://www.lamontagne.fr/paris-75000/actualites/laurent-wauquiez-en-armenie-pour-dire-qu-il-n-y-a-pas-seulement-l-ukraine_14286067/|access-date=2023-04-02|website=www.lamontagne.fr|language=fr|quote=A plusieurs reprises, depuis qu'il a atterri en Arménie, mardi 28 mars, Laurent Wauquiez a dit de cette agression qu'elle marque le retour du panturquisme du début du XXe siècle, qui a notamment été la cause du génocide arménien. On several occasions, since he landed in Armenia on Tuesday, March 28, Laurent Wauquiez said of this aggression that it marks the return of the panturkism of the early twentieth century, which was notably the cause of the Armenian genocide.}}</ref><ref name="amartikian-2023">{{Cite web|last=amartikian|date=2023-03-31|title=The French region of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes intends to break the blockade of NK|url=https://jam-news.net/humanitarian-convoy-to-head-to-nk/|access-date=2023-04-02|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref> Wauquiez said he intends to send a blockade-busting humanitarian convoy to Nagorno-Karabakh, as a joint initiative by his region of Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes and the Armenian community of France.<ref name="amartikian-2023" />
'''30 March''' — [[Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis (2021–present)#Armenian territory occupied by Azerbaijan|Azerbaijani forces seized land in internationally recognized Armenia]] around the new southern section of the Lachin road leading from the villages of Tegh and Kornidzor towards Artsakh.<ref name="caucasuswatch-2023b"/><ref>{{Cite news|last=Badalian|first=Susan|date=2023-04-03|title=Azeri Troops Hold On To 'Newly Occupied Armenian Territory'|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32347394.html|access-date=2023-06-12|quote=Azerbaijani troops have not withdrawn from community lands of an Armenian border village occupied by them last week, local residents insisted on Monday, denying the Armenian government's implicit claims to the contrary. Azerbaijani army units redeployed by Thursday morning to more parts of the Lachin district sandwiched between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, completing a change in the route of the Lachin corridor which began last August. Armenia's National Security Service (NSS) said hours later that they advanced up to 300 meters into Armenian territory at five local sections of the Armenian-Azerbaijani border adjacent to the village of Tegh.}}</ref> Azerbaijani forces also blocked the old sections of the Lachin corridor.<ref name="Khulian"/>
'''23 April''' — in violation of [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement|the ceasefire agreement]], Azerbaijani forces installed a military checkpoint at the Lachin corridor, at the Hakari/Kornidzor bridge next to a Russian peacekeeping base,<ref name="Joshua">{{Cite web|last=Joshua|first=Kucera|title=Azerbaijan sets up checkpoint on road connecting Armenia and Karabakh: Armenians have appealed to Russia, which is supposed to provide security on the road, as Baku tightens the noose around the territory's population.|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-sets-up-checkpoint-on-road-connecting-armenia-and-karabakh|website=eurasianet.org}}</ref><ref name="OC Media-2023c" /> a move that drew concerns and criticism from the Russian Federation,<ref name="OC Media-2023b"/> PACE,<ref name="OC Media-2023d">{{Cite web|date=2023-04-25|title=PACE rapporteur seeks to visit Lachin corridor|url=https://oc-media.org/pace-rapporteur-seeks-to-visit-lachin-corridor/|access-date=2023-05-01|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref> the United States, France,<ref name="Ahmedbeyli-2023">{{Cite web|last=Ahmedbeyli|first=Samira|date=2023-04-24|title=Azerbaijan has installs checkpoint at entrance to Lachin road. Information and comments from Baku and Yerevan|url=https://jam-news.net/checkpoint-on-the-lachin-road/|access-date=2023-05-01|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref> UK,<ref name="UK Foreign Office-2023">{{Cite web|title=PRESS RELEASE : Checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor – UK statement to the OSCE [April 2023] – UKPOL.CO.UK|date=27 April 2023|url=https://www.ukpol.co.uk/press-release-checkpoint-on-the-lachin-corridor-uk-statement-to-the-osce-april-2023/|access-date=2023-05-01|language=en-US}}</ref> and Canada.<ref name="Canada-2023">{{Cite web|last=Canada|first=Global Affairs|date=2023-04-25|title=Canada concerned with latest developments in Lachin Corridor|url=https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2023/04/canada-concerned-with-latest-developments-in-lachin-corridor.html|access-date=2023-05-01|website=www.canada.ca}}</ref> Video footage showed Russian peacekeepers not intervening as construction of the Azerbaijani military checkpoint was underway.<ref name="OC Media-2023b">{{Cite web|date=2023-04-24|title=Azerbaijan closes Lachin Corridor to install checkpoint|url=https://oc-media.org/azerbaijan-closes-lachin-corridor-to-install-checkpoint/|access-date=2023-04-25|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref>
'''28 April''' — the alleged "eco-protestors" suspended their action, following a meeting with Aydin Karimov, a special representative of the Azerbaijani president, who asked them to disperse.<ref name="Eurasianet-2023a">{{Cite news|date=1 May 2023|title=Azerbaijani "activists" end blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh: The self-proclaimed environmental activists blocked the road for 138 days, stopping after the government installed a checkpoint in Lachin.|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijani-activists-end-blockade-of-nagorno-karabakh}}</ref> Pro-government Azerbaijani state media reported that the activists were "very happy with the establishment of a border control mechanism" by the Azerbaijani government.<ref name="OC Media-2023c">{{Cite web|date=2023-04-28|title=Azerbaijani 'eco-protest' ends after checkpoint installed on Lachin Corridor|url=https://oc-media.org/azerbaijani-eco-protest-ends-after-checkpoint-installed-on-lachin-corridor/|access-date=2023-04-28|website=OC Media|language=en-US|quote=The Azerbaijani 'eco-activists' blocking the Lachin Corridor near Shusha (Shushi) have suspended their action following the installation of an Azerbaijani border checkpoint on the corridor. According to identical articles published across Azerbaijani state and pro-government news websites on Friday afternoon, the eco-activists said they were 'very happy with the establishment of a border control mechanism', which they reportedly said would 'ensur[e] transparency, rule of law and safety of traffic on the road'.}}</ref>
'''15 June''' — Azerbaijani forces crossed the Hakari bridge and attempted to raise an Azerbaijani flag but were repelled by the Armenian border guards who opened fire.<ref name="Civilnet-2023a">{{Cite web|date=2023-06-15|title=Special Report: Tensions Soar as Baku Blocks Humanitarian Aid to Karabakh|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/742007/special-report-tensions-soar-as-baku-blocks-humanitarian-aid-to-karabakh/|access-date=2023-06-15|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US}}</ref> After the incident, Azerbaijan blocked all passage through the Lachin corridor, including humanitarian convoys from the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-06-23|title=Nagorno-Karabakh under total blockade|url=https://eurasianet.org/nagorno-karabakh-under-total-blockade|website=Eurasianet|quote=Eteri Musayelyan, the ICRC spokeswoman in Karabakh, confirmed to RFE/RL that the Red Cross has been unable to evacuate Karabakhis to Armenia for urgent medical care. She said vehicles carrying 25 patients were turned back after the incident.}}</ref><ref name="Badalian-2023">{{Cite news|last1=Badalian|first1=Susan|last2=Sahakian|first2=Nane|date=2023-06-16|title=Relief Supplies To Karabakh Blocked By Baku|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32462417.html|access-date=2023-06-17|quote=Azerbaijan did not allow relief supplies to and medical evacuations from Nagorno-Karabakh [Artsakh] for the second consecutive day on Friday, aggravating a humanitarian crisis in the Armenian-populated region effectively cut off from the outside world since December [2022].}}</ref><ref name="Civilnet-2023a" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-06-16|title=AND IN OTHER NEWS: Alarms Rise As Azerbaijan Increases Attacks On Armenia|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/742167/and-in-other-news-alarms-rise-as-azerbaijan-increases-attacks-on-armenia/|access-date=2023-06-17|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US|quote=The dust had barely settled in Yeraskh when an Azerbaijani provocation at the recently-established border checkpoint (which has been condemned by the EU and USA) resulted in a shoot-out. Azerbaijan immediately announced it is instituting a complete blockade on the bridge, including of the Red Cross's humanitarian missions.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Բադալյան|first1=Սուսան|last2=Հովսեփյան|first2=Տիգրան|date=2023-06-15|title=Վիրավորված ԱԱԾ սահմանապահի վիճակը գնահատվում է կայուն ծանր. իրադրությունն առաջնագծում հարաբերական կայուն է|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32460657.html|access-date=2023-06-15|quote=The passenger transport of dozens of people on the Stepanakert-Goris-Stepanakert route, which was supposed to be carried out by Russian peacekeepers, was also canceled today. The movement of trucks of Russian peacekeepers going to Goris for the purpose of humanitarian cargo transportation has been stopped.}}</ref> Video footage showed Azerbaijani forces placing concrete road blocks on the bridge.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ռ/Կ|first=«Ազատություն»|date=2023-06-23|title=EU Alarmed By Tighter Azeri Blockade Of Karabakh|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32472764.html|access-date=2023-06-26}}</ref>
'''26 July''' — Azerbaijan blocked an emergency food convoy of 19 trucks (400 tons<ref name="globalissues-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-08-08|title=Blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh: When Bread and Sanitary Pads Become Luxury Items|url=https://www.globalissues.org/news/2023/08/08/34448|access-date=2023-08-09|website=www.globalissues.org|language=en-gb}}</ref>) sent to Artsakh and called it a "provocation."<ref name="Service-2023">{{Cite news|last=Service|first=RFE/RL's Armenian|title=Azerbaijan Blocks Armenian Convoy To Nagorno-Karabakh, Accuses Yerevan Of 'Provocation'|language=en|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-blocks-armenian-aid-convoy-/32522087.html|access-date=2023-08-08}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Hovsepian|first=Tigran|date=2023-08-08|title=U.S. Senate Staff Members Visit Site Of Stranded Armenian Aid Convoy In Syunik|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32539177.html|access-date=2023-08-08}}</ref><ref name="Hetq-2023c">{{Cite web|date=2023-07-29|title=Day 3 - Azerbaijan Stops Humanitarian Truck Convoy to Artsakh|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/158560|access-date=2023-08-08|website=Hetq.am|language=en}}</ref>
'''1 August''' — Reports emerged of Azerbaijani forces abducting Artsakh citizens, with two incidents being confirmed: Azerbaijani forces detained a 65-year-old Artsakh patient who was being transported by the Red Cross.<ref name="Shahverdyan-2023">{{Cite news|last1=Shahverdyan|first1=Lilit|last2=Isayev|first2=Heydar|date=2023-07-31|title=Azerbaijan arrests Nagorno-Karabakh resident during medical evacuation for "war crime"|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijan-arrests-nagorno-karabakh-resident-during-medical-evacuation-for-war-crime}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-07-30|title=Azerbaijan arrests Nagorno-Karabakh resident for 'war crimes'|url=https://oc-media.org/azerbaijan-arrests-nagorno-karabakh-resident-for-war-crimes/|access-date=2023-08-01|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref> Azerbaijan alleged that the man was guilty of "war crimes" and that an international search warrant had been previously issued. Independent news outlet, [[Eurasianet]] said they could not find any evidence to substantiate Azerbaijan's claim.<ref name="Shahverdyan-2023" /> Another 55-year-old man was detained at the military checkpoint for "illegally" crossing into Armenia.<ref name="ocmedia" />
==Humanitarian crisis==
[[File:Environmental action on Lachin - Khankendi road (International Committee of the Red Cross).jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[International Committee of the Red Cross|ICRC]] vehicle facilitating the transfer of a patient in need of urgent medical assistance across the Lachin road to Armenia.<ref name="ICRC">{{cite tweet|number=1604858961437642759|user=ICRC|title=Today we facilitated the transfer of a patient in need of urgent medical assistance across Lachin road to Armenia. As part of our role as a neutral intermediary, we stand ready to continue facilitating such operations. https://t.co/YX3HAZuMAr|author=ICRC|author-link=ICRC|date=19 December 2022|access-date=29 December 2022|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221226171451/https://twitter.com/icrc/status/1604858961437642759|archive-date=26 December 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>]]
[[File:Artsakh ration stamps.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Ration stamp]]s for [[sugar]], [[buckwheat]], [[vegetable oil]], [[rice]] and [[pasta]], provided by [[Government of Artsakh|Artsakh Government]] in January 2023.]]
[[File:Food queue in blockade Armenian enclave Nagorno-Karabakh.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Food queue in [[Stepanakert]]]]
The blockade is creating a humanitarian crisis due to the Republic of Artsakh losing regular supplies of food, fuel and medicine;<ref name="Gavin-2022" /><ref name="Kitachayev-2022"/> before the blockade, the territory received 400 tons of food and medicine daily.<ref name="CEPA-2023">{{Cite web|last=Council of Europe: Parliamentary Assembly|title=Committee on the Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Member States of the Council of Europe (Monitoring Committee):The honouring of obligations and commitments by Armenia: Information note following the visit in Armenia from 17 to 19 February 2023|url=https://rm.coe.int/the-honouring-of-obligations-and-commitments-by-armenia-information-no/1680aaa677|quote=Some have questioned the genuine nature of these eco-activists, noting that the protest is taking place in an area that is inaccessible to the public and the independent press}}</ref><ref name="Jamnews-2022b">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-22|title="Russian peacekeepers must stop certain violations"|url=https://jam-news.net/eleventh-day-of-blockade-in-lachin-corridor/|access-date=2023-01-27|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref> During the blockade, Azerbaijan has deliberately damaged or cut various critical civilian infrastructure which supplies Artsakh: including gas, electricity, and Internet.<ref name="GHEORGHE" /><ref name="IAGS-2023" /><ref name="lemkininstitute.com" /><ref name="Hill" /> Artsakh officials also have reported that Azerbaijan's disruption of power and gas supplies has created long-term environmental issues due to the depletion of water reservoirs and the unplanned deforestation of thousands of trees.<ref name="Der Matossian-2023" />
Artsakh has been without gas supply since 22 March 2023 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|2023|03|22}}).<ref name="OC Media-2023e">{{Cite web|date=2023-05-08|title=Energy crisis looms in Nagorno-Karabakh as reservoir levels fall|url=https://oc-media.org/energy-crisis-looms-in-nagorno-karabakh-as-reservoir-levels-fall/|access-date=2023-05-26|website=OC Media|language=en-US|quote=The latest gas cut to the region is ongoing, having begun around two months ago on 22 March.}}</ref><ref name="Shahverdyan" />
On the night that the blockade began (12 December), more than 1,100 Artsakh citizens were stranded on the roads in cold winter conditions.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Stepanyan|first=Gegham|title=Այս պահի դրությամբ 1100 մարդ մնացել է ճանապարհներին ձմեռվա ցուրտ պայմաններում. Գեղամ Ստեփանյան|url=https://infocom.am/hy/article/93777|access-date=13 December 2022|website=infocom.am|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Узел-2022" /> Among the stranded citizens are 270 children, many of whom were returning from attending the [[Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2022]] in Yerevan; they have been grounded in Armenian territory and are unable to return home.<ref name="Узел-2022" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Gavin|first=Gabriel|date=2023-01-07|title=Russia's military disaster could lead to famine in the Caucasus|url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/russias-military-disaster-could-lead-to-famine-in-the-caucasus/|access-date=2023-01-08|website=The Spectator|language=en-US}}</ref> Hundreds of families have been divided.<ref name="GHEORGHE" /> Schools and other educational institutions have been suspended.<ref name="CTJ-2022">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-22|title=Azerbaijan's Blockade of 120,000 Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh and its Humanitarian Crisis|url=https://www.cftjustice.org/azerbaijans-blockade-of-120000-armenians-of-nagorno-karabakh-and-its-humanitarian-crisis/|access-date=2023-01-27|website=Center for Truth and Justice|language=en-US|quote=Education: The outcome of all this has led to the closure of all the schools. 30,000 kindergarten to 12th-grade students are being deprived of education. College students are unable to complete their year-end final exams, thus affecting their higher education plans and graduation.}}</ref> Among the 120,000 people blockaded are 30,000 children, 20,000 elderly, and 9,000 disabled people.<ref name="vaticannews.va" /><ref name="ReferenceB"/><ref name="IDA-2023" />
Local Artsakh farmers are also scared of farming since Azerbaijani forces have been routinely firing at workers in their fields, and those that do have trouble transporting their goods because of the acute fuel shortages.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Khulian|first=Artak|date=2023-03-24|title=Azerbaijani Troops Accused Of Shooting At Karabakh Farmers|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32333072.html|access-date=2023-05-19}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Ռ/Կ|first=«Ազատություն»|date=2022-11-14|title=Armenian PM Reacts To Reported Shooting At Farmers In Karabakh|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32129537.html|access-date=2023-05-19|quote="Azerbaijan calls Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh 'our citizens' and, at the same time, shoots at them while they are doing agricultural work," Pashinian wrote.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=amartikian|date=2021-12-05|title=Identity of the Azerbaijani serviceman who killed a civilian in Karabakh was established|url=https://jam-news.net/identity-of-the-azerbaijani-serviceman-who-killed-a-civilian-in-karabakh-was-established/|access-date=2023-05-19|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Body of killed civilian handed over to Artsakh|url=https://en.armradio.am/2021/12/04/body-of-killed-civilian-handed-over-to-artsakh/|access-date=2023-05-19|website=Public Radio of Armenia|language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Lack of access to supplies and medical care ===
Shortages of food, fuel, and medicine are widespread,<ref name="Mnatsakanyan">{{Cite web|last=Mnatsakanyan|first=Anzhela|date=2023-01-09|title=Do Human Rights Matter?|url=https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2023/01/09/do-human-rights-matter/|access-date=2023-01-09|website=Modern Diplomacy|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Setrakian|first=Lara|date=5 January 2023|title=Opinion: With Russia's fading power in Ukraine, a second catastrophe looms|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/05/opinions/russia-armenia-azerbaijan-lachin-corridor-nagorno-karabakh-setrakian-ctpr/index.html|website=CNN}}</ref><ref name="Avetisyan-2023a" /> and emergency reserves are being rationed.<ref name="SuppliesDwindle"/><ref name="Jamnews-2023"/> Most residents have just one meal a day, often consisting only of a couple pieces of bread.<ref name="Hauer-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-07-31|title=Karabakh blockade reaches critical point as food supplies run low|url=https://www.intellinews.com/karabakh-blockade-reaches-critical-point-as-food-supplies-run-low-286173/|access-date=2023-08-01|website=bne IntelliNews|language=en |first=Neil |last=Hauer }}</ref> [[David Ignatius]], a journalist for the Washington Post, says that US officials believe people are only surviving because of their backyard gardens which will not be sustainable in winter.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ignatius|first=David|date=2023-08-11|title=Opinion {{!}} A humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in the Caucasus|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/08/11/karabakh-armenia-azerbaijan-humanitarian-catastrophe/|access-date=2023-08-11|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
Being the only road to the outside world and to Armenia, Artsakh residents depend on the Lachin corridor for supplies of food, medicine, fuel and other essential goods.<ref name="Reuters-2022b" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=26 December 2022|title=The Humanitarian Consequences of Blocking the Only Road Connecting Artsakh With Armenia and the World|url=https://ombuds.am/images/files/c01555c03620fb8494eaef308fe9ca15.pdf|access-date=27 December 2022|website=ombuds.am}}</ref> Before the blockade, the region received 400 tons of food and medicine from Armenia daily.<ref>{{Cite news|last1=Avetisyan|first1=Ani|last2=Aghayev|first2=Ismi|date=2022-12-14|title=Nagorno-Karabakh 'on the verge of humanitarian crisis'|language=en-US|website=OC Media|url=https://oc-media.org/nagorno-karabakh-on-the-verge-of-humanitarian-crisis/|access-date=2022-12-27}}</ref><ref name="CEPA-2023" /><ref name="Jamnews-2022b" /> There is massive unemployment:<ref name="intellinews.com" /><ref name="Khulian-2023b" /> Nearly one fifth of all businesses in Artsakh have suspended operations due to the blockade.<ref>{{cite web|date=2023-01-16|title=At least 3,400 people lose their jobs, sources of income due to dire economic situation in Karabakh|url=https://news.am/eng/news/739722.html|access-date=2023-01-30|website=news.am}}</ref><ref name="El Pais-2023" /> Miscarriages have also tripled due to malnutrition and stress.<ref name="rferl">{{Cite news|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|date=2023-07-31|title=With Tightening Of Blockade, Azerbaijan Presents Karabakh Armenians With A Choice: Surrender Or Starve|language=en|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-armenia-blockade-humanitarian-situation/32527892.html|access-date=2023-08-10}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=CivilNet|date=2023-07-20|title=Miscarriages surge in Karabakh amid widespread food shortages|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/745150/miscarriages-surge-in-karabakh-amid-widespread-food-shortages/|access-date=2023-08-10|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-07-27|title=Nagorno-Karabakh crisis puts the spotlight on EU ties with Azerbaijan|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/crisis-in-karabakh-baku-eu-armenia-azerbaijan/|access-date=2023-08-10|website=POLITICO|language=en}}</ref>
Several isolated communities along the corridor to the west of the road blockade have been cut off from both Armenia and the rest of Artsakh, rendering them completely isolated:<ref>{{Cite web|title=The villages of the Lachin Corridor face 'double blockade'|url=https://oc-media.org/features/the-villages-of-the-lachin-corridor-face-double-blockade/|access-date=2023-04-28|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Узел-2022" /> [[Mets Shen, Shusha|Mets Shen]], [[Hin Shen]], [[Yeghtsahogh]], and [[Turshsu, Nagorno-Karabakh|Lisagor]]. It has become impossible to deliver food and other basic necessities to these communities from either Armenia or the rest of Artsakh.<ref name="Shahverdyan-2022b">{{cite web|last=Shahverdyan|first=Lilit|date=13 December 2022|title=Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh enters second day|url=https://eurasianet.org/blockade-of-nagorno-karabakh-enters-second-day|website=Eurasianet}}</ref>
On 20 January, Artsakh authorities announced a coupon-based food rationing system that allocates one kilogram of pasta, buckwheat, rice, and sugar and a litre of cooking oil per month.<ref name="IntroducesRationing">{{Cite web|last=Avetisyan|first=Ani|date=2023-01-10|title=Nagorno-Karabakh introduces rationing and blackouts as blockade continues|url=https://oc-media.org/nagorno-karabakh-introduces-rationing-and-blackouts-as-blockade-continues/|access-date=2023-01-11|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref> By 4 July 2023, it was announced that oil and sugar rations would be provided only to families with underage children.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ղալեչյան|first=Նարինե|date=2023-07-06|title=Արցախում առաջին անհրաժեշտության ապրանքները խիստ դժվարությամբ են ճարվում՝ բազմակի թանկ|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32490331.html|access-date=2023-07-08}}</ref><ref name="Eurasianet-2023b" /><ref name="OC Media-2023f">{{Cite web|title=Food shortages and fear as peacekeepers refused entry to Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://oc-media.org/features/food-shortages-and-fear-as-peacekeepers-refused-entry-to-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-07-07|website=OC Media|language=en-US|quote=Russian peacekeeping vehicles were blocked from entering the region in late June, after a clash between Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan which killed four soldiers from Nagorno-Karabakh....A common joke in Stepanakert, since the total blockade of the land traffic for Russian peacekeepers, is that the helicopters cross the city more often than public transport, bringing beer and crisps from Armenia for Russian peacekeeping forces that remain within the region. Currently, the Red Cross is the only organisation allowed to pass through the corridor, and only to move people needing urgent medical assistance to hospitals in Armenia.}}</ref>
A BBC News article from 6 January stated that the only product left for sale at the main market was dried thyme, that shop shelves were empty in all of [[Stepanakert]], and that all basic medication had run out, even at the hospital.<ref name="BBC-jan6">{{cite news|last1=Demytrie|first1=Rayhan|title=Nagorno-Karabakh: Empty shops and blockade pile pressure on Armenians|work=BBC News|date=6 January 2023|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-64174164|access-date=6 January 2023}}</ref> The stress, poor nutrition, and lack of medication has caused an increase in miscarriages and premature births.<ref name="opend">{{Cite web|title=Blockaded Nagorno-Karabakh is running out of food and hope|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/nagorno-karabakh-blockade-200-days-azerbaijan-armenia/|access-date=2023-08-16|website=openDemocracy|language=en|quote=In January, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev offered Karabakh Armenians a stark choice: accept Azerbaijani citizenship and the promise of security and equal rights, or leave altogether. "The road is not closed," Aliyev said, "it is open." ... Azerbaijan is yet to present any plans to better integrate the Karabakh Armenian population and has done nothing to de-escalate hostility. In May, Aliyev demanded the de facto authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh surrender and promised them amnesty, but he threatened force if they did not comply.}}</ref>
The transfer of critically ill patients from Artsakh to [[Yerevan]] remains nearly impossible, with one death resulting from the situation.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Արցախի ԱՆ-ն ահազանգում է՝ առողջական ծանր խնդիրներ ունեցող արցախցիների տեղափոխումը Երևան շարունակում է անհնար մնալ|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32174349.html|access-date=13 December 2022|website=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|date=13 December 2022|language=hy|last1=ռ/կ|first1=Ազատություն}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://jam-news.net/lachin-corridor-still-closed/|title="1100 people cannot return home, 120,000 are under blockade": Lachin corridor still closed|publisher=JAM News|date=14 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="Узел-2022"/> Hospitals in Artsakh report that all non-essential surgeries have been postponed.<ref name="jam-news.net"/><ref name="Global Voices-2023"/><ref name="Slaveva-2023"/>
==== Limited supplies transported by the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers ====
Since 12 December 2022, only vehicles belonging to the [[International Committee of the Red Cross]] (ICRC) and the Russian peacekeepers have been permitted to pass through the Lachin corridor. They have transported patients in need of medical care and provided limited humanitarian supplies.<ref name="BlackoutsRationing" /><ref name="OC Media-2023a" /> However, Azerbaijan has also blocked passage of the ICRC and the Russian peacekeepers on various occasions and for weeks at a time.<ref name="OC Media-2023g">{{Cite web|date=2023-06-20|title=Nagorno-Karabakh again faces shortages as Azerbaijan closes Lachin Corridor|url=https://oc-media.org/nagorno-karabakh-again-faces-shortages-as-azerbaijan-closes-lachin-corridor/|access-date=2023-07-07|website=OC Media|language=en-US|quote=The Red Cross also told local media in Armenia that Azerbaijani soldiers had blocked entry and exit of vehicles to the region since Thursday [June 15, 2023].}}</ref><ref name="PACE-2023b">{{Cite web|date=2023-06-22|title=Ensuring free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor|url=https://pace.coe.int/pdf/551cb5fac5d1cae7ab2a869060d3c0b59bc4adb056a35fe0d0e670f62cd78694/doc.%2015796.pdf|website=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|quote=From 29 April to 16 May 2023, ICRC's operations were suspended until its operating procedures were agreed with the Azerbaijani authorities...Access to healthcare is neither reliable nor sustainable. The transfer of patients is prioritised by a medical committee, and it can take up to several days until a medical transport is authorised. The ICRC has been unable to carry out any medical transport at all during two periods of a fortnight, namely at the beginning of the action of the "eco-activists" on the Lachin corridor and after the establishment of the border checkpoint on 23 April, pending the agreement of an authorisation procedure with Azerbaijan, which has to green-light each transfer of patients.}}</ref><ref name="Civilnet-2023b">{{Cite web|date=2023-07-11|title=Azerbaijan again blocks Red Cross from Karabakh, citing 'smuggling'|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/744073/azerbaijan-again-blocks-red-cross-from-karabakh-citing-smuggling/|access-date=2023-07-11|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Eurasianet-2023b">{{Cite news|date=2023-07-13|title=Nagorno-Karabakh authorities warn of "critical" situation as Azerbaijan bans Red Cross vehicles|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/nagorno-karabakh-authorities-warn-of-critical-situation-as-azerbaijan-bans-red-cross-vehicles|quote=Azerbaijan shut down its border checkpoint on the road to all traffic on June 15 following an armed clash in the area. Ten days later Baku granted the ICRC exclusive access to the road, primarily for patient transfers but also for provision of some basic supplies. [On July 11] Azerbaijan...barred the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) from using the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and the outside world.}}</ref>
On 15 June 2023, Azerbaijan blocked all passage of food, fuel, and medicine from the Red Cross and the Russian peacekeepers through the Lachin corridor.<ref name="OC Media-2023g" /><ref name="OC Media-2023f" /><ref name="Hauer-2023" /> Ten days later, Azerbaijan lifted the ban on Red Cross vehicles but banned their passage again on 11 July 2023.<ref name="Eurasianet-2023b" /> On 25 July 2023, the ICRC called on "the relevant decision makers" to allow the organization to resume its humanitarian operations.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-07-25|title=Azerbaijan/Armenia: Sides must reach "humanitarian consensus" to ease suffering|url=https://www.icrc.org/en/document/azerbaijan-armenia-sides-must-reach-humanitarian-consensus-to-ease-suffering|access-date=2023-07-25|website=International Committee of the Red Cross|language=en}}</ref>
Before Azerbaijan banned passage of the ICRC, the organization said that the military checkpoint had worsened its ability to carry out humanitarian operations, with each convoy from the ICRC requiring approval from Azerbaijan before it passes through.<ref name="crisisgroup-2023a" /><ref name="PACE-2023b" />
The humanitarian aid delivered by the ICRC and the Russian peacekeepers is insufficient to meet demand.<ref name="AI" /><ref name="Von Joeden-Forgey and-2023" /><ref name="Scennach-2023">{{Cite web|last=SCHENNACH|first=Stefan|date=22 June 2023|title=Debate: Ensuring free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor|url=https://pace.coe.int/pdf/edc3c5395247880831f5a71979ff643a2cc5ee5d0c6c96ebfcd8a06e95062d81/verbatim.pdf|website=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|quote=It was in the middle of December 2022 that disguised eco-activists blocked their road. Conversely, in order to prevent this conflict from degenerating again, the Russian peacekeepers then blocked theirs. Since then, we have a humanitarian disaster, namely with food, medicine, energy, services, family reunification. All that is interrupted. The humanitarian aid that the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers are providing is nowhere near enough.}}</ref>
The Red Cross has distributed food, medical supplies, and hygiene items across the corridor, including to eight hospitals, a physical rehabilitation center harboring 300 destitute elderly people, and a center supporting children from vulnerable families.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Ghavalyan|first=Anush|date=2022-12-30|title=Nagorno-Karabakh: Christmas Under Blockade|url=https://greekcitytimes.com/2022/12/30/nagorno-karabakh-christmas/|access-date=2023-01-09|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Gordon|first=Dave|date=29 January 2023|title=Protesters in Azerbaijan outraged over alleged mine pollution|language=en-CA|newspaper=Toronto Sun|url=https://torontosun.com/opinion/columnists/gordon-protesters-in-azerbaijan-outraged-over-alleged-mine-pollution|access-date=30 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=25 December 2022|title=Гуманитарный груз из Армении доставлен в Нагорный Карабах|language=ru|work=Кавказский Узел|url=https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/384353/|access-date=25 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="news.am-2022">{{cite news|date=25 December 2022|title=Armenia sends 10 tons of humanitarian cargo to Nagorno-Karabakh|language=en|work=news.am|url=https://news.am/eng/news/736947.html|access-date=25 December 2022}}</ref><ref name="news.am-2023">{{cite news|date=16 January 2023|title=Red Cross transports medicine, other supplies from Armenia to Karabakh|language=en|work=news.am|url=https://news.am/eng/news/739650.html|access-date=16 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="BlackoutsRationing" /> Since December 2022, the Red Cross has reported evacuating 600 patients,<ref name="CTVNews-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-08-04|title=Nagorno-Karabakh: Canada says Armenians face 'deteriorating humanitarian situation'|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/nagorno-karabakh-canada-says-armenians-face-deteriorating-humanitarian-situation-1.6507175|access-date=2023-08-08|website=CTVNews|language=en|quote=The Red Cross said last week it has been able to evacuate "more than 600 people in urgent need of medical care since December 2022," but still has trouble accessing the region in order to provide medical services.}}</ref> and transferred 422 people across the Lachin Corridor to reunite separated families. The Red Cross also reported delivering 3,500 food and hygiene parcels between 1 January and 20 March 2023.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Operational Update – ICRC operations across the Lachin Corridor|url=https://www.icrc.org/en/document/operational-update-across-lachin-corridor|website=International Committee of the Red Cross|access-date=22 March 2023|language=en|date=20 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|date=2023-02-16|title=The importance of preserving a neutral humanitarian space for conflict affected populations|website=International Committee of the Red Cross|url=https://www.icrc.org/en/document/importance-preserving-neutral-humanitarian-space-conflict-affected-populations|language=en}}</ref><ref name="ICRC" /><ref name="ICRC-2023">{{cite journal|date=1 February 2023|title=Operational update – Situation along the Lachin Corridor|url=https://www.icrc.org/en/document/operational-update-situation-along-lachin-corridor|access-date=2 February 2023|website=International Committee of the Red Cross|language=en}}</ref>
Between 22 January and 15 June 2023, Russian peacekeeping forces delivered humanitarian cargo, including food parcel and fuel, through the Lachin corridor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Бюллетени|url=https://mil.ru/russian_peacekeeping_forces/bulletins.htm|access-date=1 February 2023|website=Российский миротворческий контингент в Нагорном Карабахе|publisher=Министерство обороны Российской Федерации|language=ru|archive-date=28 March 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220328190755/https://mil.ru/russian_peacekeeping_forces/bulletins.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="HRW-2022" /><ref name="OC Media-2023f" /> As the only supplier of fuel to the region, Azerbaijan's ban on the passage of Russian peacekeepers has created a severe fuel shortage and a prohibition on selling fuel.<ref name="OC Media-2023f" /> Artsakh locals and government officials also reported that the Russian peacekeepers had profited off the situation by charging several thousand dollars per vehicle of essential goods.<ref name="Tumakova-2023" /><ref name="El Pais-2023" />
{{Multiple images
| direction         = vertical
| total_width       = 270
| image1            = Empty grocery stores in Stepanakert during the blockade of the Republic of Artsakh (1).jpg
| image2            = Empty grocery stores in Stepanakert during the blockade of the Republic of Artsakh (2).jpg
| caption2          = Empty grocery stores in [[Stepanakert]] during the blockade
}}
=== Damage to infrastructure ===
[[File:Nagorno Karabakh - Satellite photos of the Sarsang reservoir taken on January 1 and April 28, 2023.jpg|thumb|Nagorno-Karabakh's [[Sarsang reservoir|largest water reservoir]] has reached critically low levels, due to the increasing demand for hydroelectric power since Azerbaijan has disrupted the region's main power supply]]
During the blockade, Azerbaijan has sabotaged or cut various critical civilian infrastructure of Artsakh: including gas, electricity, and Internet.<ref name="OC Media-2023a" /><ref name="PACE-2023a" /><ref name="GHEORGHE" /><ref name="IAGS-2023" /><ref name="H. RES. 108"/> Artsakh has been without adequate electricity supply since 10 January 2023 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|2023|01|10}}) and without gas supply since 22 March 2023 ({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|2023|03|22}}).<ref name="OC Media-2023e" /><ref name="PACE-2023a" /><ref name="Hill" />
Azerbaijan has cut the only gas supply to Artsakh numerous times; first between 13 and 16 December 2022,<ref name="IntroducesRationing" /> and again on 17 January, 28 January, 6 February, and 10 March 2023.<ref name="rferl.org">{{Cite news|title=Gas Supply To Nagorno-Karabakh Restored, Regional Authorities Say|language=en|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/nagorno-karabakh-gas-supply-region-disrupted-again/32227556.html|access-date=2023-01-18}}</ref><ref name="caucasuswatch-2023a">{{Cite web|date=2023-01-30|title=Recent developments Regarding Protest Along Lachin Corridor|url=https://caucasuswatch.de/en/news/recent-developments-regarding-protest-along-lachin-corridor-2.html|access-date=2023-02-02|website=Caucasus Watch|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Khulian-2023a">{{Cite news|last1=Khulian|first1=Artak|date=17 January 2023|title=Gas Supply To Karabakh Disrupted, Restored Again (UPDATED)|language=hy|website=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32227135.html|access-date=2023-01-18}}</ref><ref name="Stepanian">{{Cite news|last1=Stepanian|first1=Ruzanna|last2=Sahakian|first2=Nane|date=2023-03-13|title=Gas Supply To Karabakh Blocked Again|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32315688.html|access-date=2023-03-14}}</ref> Officials from the [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|Parliamentary Council of Europe]], Armenia, and Artsakh have said that Azerbaijan can disrupt the gas supply to Artsakh on demand by means of a control valve that Azerbaijan installed in March 2020 during repair works.<ref name="Kitachayev-2022" /><ref name="crisisgroup-2022" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Political analyst: Azerbaijan resumed gas supply to Artsakh not for us but for itself|url=https://news.am/eng/news/735529.html|access-date=2023-01-18|website=news.am|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-12-15|title=Armenian National Assembly Adopts Resolution on Humanitarian Crisis Created in Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan|url=https://massispost.com/2022/12/armenian-national-assembly-adopts-resolution-on-humanitarian-crisis-created-in-nagorno-karabakh-by-azerbaijan/|access-date=2023-01-18|website=MassisPost|language=en-US}}</ref> A [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|PACE]] report said that the observation that gas does not go beyond the village of Pekh indicates that a control valve was installed.<ref name="PACE-2023a" />
On 10 January, the only high-voltage power line from Armenia to Artsakh was damaged, with Azerbaijan preventing repair teams from accessing the damaged section.<ref name="OC Media-2023a" /> As a result, Artsakh authorities announced that daily blackouts would be instituted (lasting on average 6-hours<ref name="AI" />) to ration the limited local hydroelectricity-production.<ref name="AMS-2023">{{Cite web|last1=|first1=|last2=|first2=|date=2023-01-10|title=Armenia's Electricity Supply to Karabakh Disrupted|url=https://mirrorspectator.com/2023/01/10/armenias-electricity-supply-to-karabakh-disrupted/|access-date=2023-01-16|website=The Armenian Mirror-Spectator|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Hetq-2023a">{{Cite web|date=11 January 2023|title=Azerbaijan Blocks Repairs to Karabakh Electricity Power Line|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/152001|access-date=2023-01-16|website=Hetq.am|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Ghazanchyan-2023">{{Cite web|last=Ghazanchyan|first=Siranush|date=10 January 2023|title=High-voltage power line supplying electricity to Artsakh damaged: Azerbaijan hindering restoration works|url=https://en.armradio.am/2023/01/10/high-voltage-power-line-supplying-electricity-to-artsakh-damaged-azerbaijan-hinders-restoration-works/|access-date=2023-01-16|website=Public Radio of Armenia|language=en-US}}</ref> Since then, Artsakh has been entirely dependent on its own hydrogeneration capacity; power plants have been operating at full capacity and their water reservoir levels are reaching critically low levels.<ref name="Sukiasyan-2023" /><ref name="Shahverdyan"/><ref name="ReferenceC"/>
On 12 January, internet access in Artsakh was disrupted due to damage to the only broadband internet cables leading into the region, with Artsakh officials accusing Azerbaijan of deliberately severing the connection.<ref name="Hetq-2023b">{{Cite web|date=12 January 2023|title=Internet Service Severed in Artsakh; Stepanakert Accuses Baku|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/152039|access-date=2023-01-16|website=Hetq.am|language=en}}</ref><ref name="MassisPost-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-01-12|title=Internet Blackout and Power Line Damage in Nagorno Karabakh|url=https://massispost.com/2023/01/internet-blackout-and-power-line-damage-in-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-01-16|website=MassisPost|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="asbarez-2023">{{Cite web|title=Azerbaijan Also Cuts Internet Connection to Artsakh|url=https://www.asbarez.com/azerbaijan-also-cuts-internet-connection-to-artsakh/|access-date=2023-01-16|website=asbarez.com|date=12 January 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref> The internet was restored after Armenian specialists repaired the damage the next day.<ref name="PRA-2023">{{Cite web|title=Internet connection restored in Artsakh|url=https://en.armradio.am/2023/01/13/internet-connection-restored-in-artsakh/|access-date=2023-01-16|website=Public Radio of Armenia|language=en-US}}</ref> Azerbaijan's cuts to the electricity supply have also interfered with Internet and telephone connections.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-03-08|title=Two-month blockade sets new extreme test for Nagorno-Karabakh's ability to resist|url=https://www.nationalia.info/new/11524/two-month-blockade-sets-new-extreme-test-for-nagorno-karabakhs-ability-to-resist|access-date=2023-08-03|website=Nationalia|language=Catalan}}</ref>
Public transportation has also completely shutdown due to Azerbaijan's interruption of the gas supply.<ref name="rferl" />
== Genocide risk factors ==
Human rights organizations, academics specializing in [[genocide studies]], and politicians consider the blockade to be a form of ethnic cleansing and have warned of the [[Risk factors for genocide|risk of genocide]].<ref name="Hill-2022">{{Citation|title=Genocide Warning: Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh|date=23 September 2022|url=https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/genocide-warning-azerbaijan-and-nagorno-karabakh-september-2022|website=Genocide Watch|access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref><ref name="Lemkin-2023a">{{Cite web|title=Red Flag Alert for Genocide – Azerbaijan Update 4|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/red-flag-alerts-1/red-flag-alert-for-genocide---azerbaijan-update-4|access-date=2022-12-22|website=Lemkin Institute|language=en|archive-date=27 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227225601/https://www.lemkininstitute.com/red-flag-alerts-1/red-flag-alert-for-genocide---azerbaijan-update-4|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Chidiac-2023">{{Cite web|last=Chidiac|first=Gerry|date=2023-02-09|title=World stands by in the face of the Second Armenian Genocide|url=https://troymedia.com/crime/world-stands-by-in-the-face-of-the-second-armenian-genocide/|access-date=2023-02-13|website=Troy Media|language=en-CA}}</ref><ref name="Rhodes-2023">{{Cite web|last=Rhodes|first=January|date=2023-01-31|title=Museum Statement: Artsakh Crisis|url=https://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/museum-statement-artsakh/|access-date=2023-05-04|website=Illinois Holocaust Museum|language=en-US|archive-date=4 May 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230504043106/https://www.ilholocaustmuseum.org/museum-statement-artsakh/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="Gregorian-2022">{{Cite web|last=Gregorian|first=Alin K.|date=2022-12-20|title=Difficult Road Ahead for Karabakh and Armenia|url=https://mirrorspectator.com/2022/12/20/difficult-road-ahead-for-karabakh-and-armenia-2/|access-date=2023-04-01|website=The Armenian Mirror-Spectator|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Gavin-2023b">{{Cite web|date=2023-04-28|title=Azerbaijani activists end Nagorno-Karabakh sit-in as Baku tightens grip on region|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/azerbaijan-armenia-activists-end-nagorno-karabakh-demonstration/|access-date=2023-05-04|website=POLITICO|language=en|quote=France's foreign minister has joined international observers in warning of the risk of 'ethnic cleansing' in the breakaway region.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Against Backdrop of Baku's Ongoing Blockade of Lachin Corridor, Menendez Blasts Commerce Plans to Permit Export of Lethal Weapons to Azerbaijan {{!}} United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|url=https://www.foreign.senate.gov/press/dem/release/against-backdrop-of-bakus-ongoing-blockade-of-lachin-corridormenendez-blasts-commerce-plans-to-permit-export-of-lethal-weapons-to-azerbaijan|access-date=2023-05-07|website=www.foreign.senate.gov|date=2 February 2023|language=en|quote="Today, Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh face an acute humanitarian crisis, threats of ethnic cleansing, and chronic shortages of water, energy, healthcare, and food."}}</ref> The founding prosecutor of the [[International Criminal Court]], Luis Moreno Ocampo, describes the blockade as a genocide, under Article II, (c) of the [[Genocide Convention]]: "Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction," adding that "... President Aliyev has Genocidal intentions: he has knowingly, willingly and voluntarily blockaded the Lachin Corridor even after having been placed on notice regarding the consequences of his actions by the ICJ's [<nowiki/>[[International Court of Justice]]] provisional orders."<ref name="Ռ/Կ-2023" /><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-08-09|title=Armenians face genocide in Azerbaijan, former International Criminal Court prosecutor warns|url=https://apnews.com/article/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-blockade-2a9fb9852534ab38656a99b435f0ba86|access-date=2023-08-11|website=AP News|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ocampo|first=Luis Moreno|date=2023-08-11|title=Starvation as a Means of Genocide: Azerbaijan's Blockade of the Lachin Corridor Between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh - Just Security|url=https://www.justsecurity.org/87574/starvation-as-a-means-of-genocide-azerbaijans-blockade-of-the-lachin-corridor-between-armenia-and-nagorno-karabakh/,%20https://www.justsecurity.org/87574/starvation-as-a-means-of-genocide-azerbaijans-blockade-of-the-lachin-corridor-between-armenia-and-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-08-11|website=www.justsecurity.org|language=en-US}}</ref>
A coalition of international observers wrote "All 14 risk factors for atrocity crimes identified by the [https://www.un.org/en/genocideprevention/documents/publications-and-resources/Genocide_Framework%20of%20Analysis-English.pdf UN Secretary-General's Office on Genocide Prevention] are now present...The current Azerbaijani aggression against the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh conforms to a long pattern of ethnic and religious cleansing of Armenian and other Christian communities in the region by the government of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Turkey, the Ottoman Empire, and their partisans."<ref name="Genocide Warning: Nagorno Karabakh" /> Another group of genocide scholars at the 2022 Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide declared: "we believe that the actions of the Azerbaijani government pose a threat of genocide to Armenians in the region."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Statement on the Goris-Stepanakert Corridor Closure – Global Forum Against the Crime of Genocide|url=https://www.genocideprevention.am/%d5%b9%d5%b8%d6%80%d6%80%d5%b8%d6%80%d5%a4-%d5%a3%d5%ac%d5%b8%d5%a2%d5%a1%d5%ac-%d6%86%d5%b8%d6%80%d5%b8%d6%82%d5%b4/|access-date=2023-05-03|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="latimes">{{Cite web|last1=Papazian|first1=Mary|last2=Sahakian|first2=Vatche|date=2023-01-31|title=Op-Ed: We can't let history repeat itself with the siege of Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-01-31/armenia-azerbaijan-blockade-nagorno-karabakh-artsakh-humanitarian-crisis|access-date=2023-05-03|website=Los Angeles Times|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=17 February 2023|first=Ara|last=Nazarian|title=Azerbaijan must end Lachin corridor blockade|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/02/17/opinion/azerbaijan-must-end-lachin-corridor-blockade/|access-date=2023-05-04|website=BostonGlobe.com|language=en-US}}</ref> A group letter authored published in [[Le Monde]] described Artsakh as "an open-air prison, where, on a daily basis, the inhabitants lack everything."<ref>{{Cite news|date=2023-03-28|title='France must act to stop the ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh and sanction Azerbaijan'|language=en|work=Le Monde.fr|url=https://www.lemonde.fr/en/opinion/article/2023/03/28/france-must-act-to-stop-the-ethnic-cleansing-of-armenians-in-nagorno-karabakh-and-sanction-azerbaijan_6021008_23.html|access-date=2023-08-04}}</ref>
[[File:Armenians in Washington held a protest in front of the White House.jpg|thumb|Armenians in Washington protest in front of the White House, 21 September 2023]]
[[Thomas de Waal]], a senior fellow with Carnegie Europe, specialising in [[the Caucasus]], says that "Armenians fear that this is a prelude to an Azerbaijani attempt to fully drive them all out of their homeland."<ref name="Reichardt-2023">{{Cite web|last=Reichardt|first=Adam|date=2023-04-29|title=Nagorno-Karabakh: no clear path out of the crisis|url=https://neweasterneurope.eu/2023/04/29/nagorno-karabakh-no-clear-path-out-of-the-crisis/|access-date=2023-05-04|website=New Eastern Europe|language=en-GB}}</ref> [[Anders Fogh Rasmussen]], former prime minister of Denmark and a NATO secretary general, wrote "All eyes are rightly fixated on [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russia's war in Ukraine]]. But that is no excuse for ignoring another crisis that is brewing on Europe's doorstep...The intent [of the blockade], clearly, is to make life as difficult as possible for the Armenian population, and there is a serious risk of imminent ethnic cleansing. We must not divert our gaze from what is happening."<ref name="Rasmussen-2023" />
Many observers do not believe that Artsakh Armenians can live safely under President Aliyev's regime.<ref name="Hauer-2023"/> Caucasus expert Laurence Broers draws parallels between "the Russian discourse about Ukraine as an artificial, fake nation, and [[Falsification of history in Azerbaijan|the Azerbaijani discourse about Armenia, likewise claiming it has a fake history]]" which elevates the conflict to an "existential level."<ref name="Boy-2023">{{cite news|last=Boy|first=Ann-Dorit|date=18 January 2023|title=Blockade in the Southern Caucasus: "There Is Every Reason to Expect More Violence This Year"|language=en|work=Der Spiegel|url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/blockade-in-the-southern-caucasus-there-is-every-reason-to-expect-more-violence-this-year-a-639a972e-cc4e-477d-99f2-766beb2fcbea|access-date=19 January 2023}}</ref> Broers also wrote "the blockade renders irrelevant any talk of the civil integration of Karabakh Armenians. It vindicates the worst fears of the Karabakh Armenian population."<ref name="Civilnet-2023d">{{Cite web|date=2023-07-31|title=In Other News: Reaching the Breaking Point|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/746065/in-other-news-reaching-the-breaking-point/|access-date=2023-07-31|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US}}</ref> If Azerbaijan takes control over the region, political analysts predict that Azerbaijan will arbitrarily detain and torture civilians, under the pretext of their association with the Artsakh government or with previous wars.<ref name="Hauer-2023" />
Independent journalist, Susan Korah, wrote "...the international community, should seriously consider applying the principle of R2P [<nowiki/>[[Responsibility to protect|Responsibility to Protect]]] to stop ethnic cleansing in Artsakh."<ref name="Korah">{{Cite web|last=Korah|first=Susan|date=2023-05-18|title=Time for Canada to step up in the South Caucasus|url=https://opencanada.org/time-for-canada-to-step-up-in-the-south-caucasus/|access-date=2023-05-19|website=Open Canada|language=en}}</ref> The [[Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect|Global Center for the Responsibility to Protect]] issued an "atrocity alert" in which it says Azerbaijan's "intentional and unlawful denial of humanitarian assistance may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Atrocity Alert No. 358: El Salvador, Nagorno-Karabakh and UN peacekeeping|url=https://www.globalr2p.org/publications/atrocity-alert-no-358/|access-date=2023-08-08|website=Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect|language=en}}</ref> Political analysts and former US officials, [[Sam Brownback]] and [[Michael Rubin (historian)|Michael Rubin]], describe the situation as "becoming the new [[Srebrenica massacre|Srebrenica [massacre]]]."<ref name="Brownback-2023">{{Cite web|last1=Brownback|first1=Sam|last2=Rubin|first2=Michael|title=Erdogan's foul play: Turkey is teaming up with Azerbaijan to punish Armenia|url=https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/jul/17/erdogans-foul-play-turkey-is-teaming-up-with-azerb/|access-date=2023-07-19|website=The Washington Times|language=en-US}}</ref>
* The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention – issued several "Red Flag Alerts" on Azerbaijan since the blockade began,<ref name="Lemkin-2023b">{{Cite web|title=Red Flag Alert for Genocide – Azerbaijan Update 6|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/red-flag-alerts-1/red-flag-alert-for-genocide---azerbaijan-update-6|access-date=2023-02-03|website=Lemkin Institute|language=en|archive-date=31 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230331164920/https://www.lemkininstitute.com/red-flag-alerts-1/red-flag-alert-for-genocide---azerbaijan-update-6|url-status=dead}}</ref> describing it as "a criminal act which intends to create terror and unbearable conditions of life for the population of Artsakh. These events are not isolated events; they are, instead, being committed within a larger genocidal pattern against Armenia and Armenians by the Azerbaijani regime."<ref name="lemkininstitute.com" /> The group also wrote "The genocidal intent of Baku has never been clearer and the actions carried out up to the moment highly predict this outcome."<ref name="Lemkin-2023a" /> The group wrote a letter to the EU council, warning that the European Union "is turning a blind eye to the Azerbaijani dictatorship for geopolitical and resource reasons" and that Azerbaijan's "intentions are clear: to wipe out all traces of Armenian life and of an Armenian presence in this region. Azerbaijani President, Ilham Aliyev, has consistently and repeatedly stated that he intends to eradicate the indigenous Armenians dwelling in Artsakh."<ref>{{Cite web|last1=von Joeden-Forgey|first1=Elisa|last2=Victoria Massimino|first2=Irene|date=2022-05-15|title=Open Letter to Charles Michel, President of the European Council, Regarding Complicity in Genocide|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/_files/ugd/391abe_2ae755d9e8e64656a2934d4742740353.pdf}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=@LemkinInstitute|url=https://twitter.com/LemkinInstitute/status/1657491875824295936|access-date=2023-05-15|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref> The Lemkin Institute also wrote several letters warning EU and US officials that they will be complicit in genocide and should be tried in an international court if they broker a transfer of ethnic Armenians from Artsakh to Armenia proper. The Lemkin Institute said that sponsoring a transfer would constitute a violation of the right to self-determination and crime against humanity, and could fall within the crime of genocide, according to Article III(e) of the Genocide Convention.<ref name="openl">{{Cite web|title=Open Letters|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/open-letters|access-date=2023-07-17|website=Lemkin Institute|language=en}}</ref> In August 2023, following news of Armenians in Artsakh dying of starvation, the Lemkin Institute issued an active genocide alert regarding the blockade.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/single-post/lemkin-institute-issues-active-genocide-alert-azerbaijan-in-artsakh|title=Lemkin Institute Issues Active Genocide Alert Azerbaijan – in Artsakh|date=2023-08-19|access-date=2023-09-06|work=Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention}}</ref>
* [[International Association of Genocide Scholars]] – condemned the blockade and Azerbaijan's "deliberate attacks on ... [Artsakh's] ...critical infrastructure." The group noted "significant genocide risk factors exist in the Nagorno-Karabakh situation concerning the Armenian population." The government of Azerbaijan, encouraged by its ally Turkey, has long promoted official hatred of Armenians, has fostered impunity for atrocities committed against Armenians, and has issued repeated threats to empty the region of its indigenous Armenian population."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-02-02|title=International Association of Genocide Scholars issues statement condemning the Azerbaijani blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)|url=https://armenianweekly.com/2023/02/02/international-association-of-genocide-scholars-issues-statement-condemning-the-azerbaijani-blockade-of-artsakh-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-02-06|website=The Armenian Weekly|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="IAGS-2023" />
* [[Genocide Watch]] – issued an alert stating "Due to its unprovoked attacks and genocidal rhetoric against ethnic Armenians, Genocide Watch considers Azerbaijan's assault on Armenia and Artsakh to be at Stage 4: Dehumanization, Stage 7: Preparation, Stage 8: Persecution, and Stage 10: Denial."<ref name="Hill-2022" /> The group described the blockade as :a clear attempt by the Azerbaijani government to starve, freeze, and ultimately expel Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Hill|first=Nathaniel|date=2023-02-24|title=Genocide Emergency: Azerbaijan's Blockade of Artsakh|url=https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/genocide-emergency-azerbaijan-s-blockade-of-artsakh|access-date=2023-05-03|website=genocidewatch|language=en}}</ref>
* Letter by group of scholars and genocide experts - a group of scholars wrote an open letter to the UN Secretary-General António Guterres, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide Alice Wairimu Nderitu, and to the Member States of the UN Security Council regarding the potential for genocide in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on 9 August 2023. In the open letter they "call upon the United Nations to activate its early warning mechanism, as stipulated within its mandates, to expeditiously address the tangible and imminent threat of genocide in Artsakh".<ref>{{cite news|date=2023-08-11|title=Prominent genocide scholars have submitted an open letter to the UN Secretary-General, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Special Adviser of the UN Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, and Member States of the UN Security Council regarding the potential for genocide in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)|url=http://www.genocide-museum.am/eng/11.8.23.php|website=Genocide Museum|publisher=The Armenian Genocide Museum-institute}}</ref>
== Inaction of the Russian peacekeepers ==
[[File:Trilateral talks with President of Azerbaijan and Prime Minister of Armenia (2022-10-31).jpg|thumb|Russian President [[Vladimir Putin]] at the trilateral talks with Armenian Prime Minister [[Nikol Pashinyan]] and Azerbaijan's President [[Ilham Aliyev]] in Sochi, Russia, 31 October 2022]]
The [[Peacekeeping operations in Nagorno-Karabakh|Russian peacekeepers]] are not fulfilling their mandate to protect free passage through the Lachin corridor.<ref name="www.al-monitor.com-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-01-31|title=Turkey rises, Russia fades as Iran and Azerbaijan clash over Armenia - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East|url=https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2023/01/turkey-rises-russia-fades-iran-and-azerbaijan-clash-over-armenia|access-date=2023-07-22|website=www.al-monitor.com|language=en}}</ref><ref name="PACE-2023c" /><ref name="Douglas-2023" /> The peacekeepers witnessed but did not intervene as Azerbaijan installed its military checkpoint within meters of their position.<ref name="OC Media-2023b"/><ref name="Hauer-2023"/> The peacekeepers also did not escort the 400 tons of emergency aid that were blocked by Azerbaijan on 26 July 2023.<ref name="globalissues-2023" /><ref name="Service-2023" /><ref name="Hetq-2023c" /> The peacekeepers also did not intervene when Azerbaijan kidnapped three Artsakh students from a Russian-organized peacekeeping convoy that passed through the Lachin corridor.<ref name=":c3">{{Cite web|date=2023-09-05|title=Risk Factors and Indicators of the Crime of Genocide in the Republic of Artsakh: Applying the UN Framework of Analysis for Atrocity Crimes to the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/_files/ugd/9bc553_2e3babd9d7834d7fbcfa262f88c9fa74.pdf|website=Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention|quote=Most recently, on 28 August 2023, Azerbaijan kidnapped three young Artsakh Armenian men from a Russian-organized peacekeeping transport of university students while they were being transported from Artsakh to the Republic of Armenia to attend their courses for the fall semester ... Russian peacekeepers were unable to prevent the detention of these young students.}}</ref><ref name=":c4">{{Cite web|last=Civilnet|date=2023-08-28|title=Azerbaijan detains 3 Karabakh students as they try to enter Armenia|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/748352/azerbaijan-kidnaps-3-karabakh-students-as-they-try-to-enter-armenia/|access-date=2023-09-18|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US}}</ref>
Nerses Kopalyan, a political scientist, wrote that "The Russian peacekeepers function more like an impotent observation mission than an armed contingent."<ref name="caucasuswatch-2023b" /> Armenian prime minister Pashinyan has described the peacekeeping force a "silent witness to the depopulation of Nagorno-Karabakh."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Avedian|first=Lillian|date=2023-02-09|title=The Costs of Azerbaijan's Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://dawnmena.org/the-costs-of-azerbaijans-blockade-of-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-08-01|website=DAWN|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-12-29|title=Pashinyan Slams Inaction of Russian Peacekeepers in Karabakh as "Unacceptable"|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/151698|access-date=2023-08-01|website=Hetq.am|language=en}}</ref> Bedross Der Matossian, scholar in middle east history, describes the Russian peacekeepers as "inept" and compares them to the Belgian and Dutch peacepeekers before the Rwandan and Srebrenica genocides.<ref name="Der Matossian-2023" />
Azerbaijan has indicated that it plans to end the peacekeeping mission by 2025, whereas the president of Artsakh, [[Arayik Harutyunyan|Harutyunyan]], has said that he would like the peacekeepers to remain in the region permanently.<ref name="opend2" /><ref name="crisisgroup-2023a" /> Analysts predict a new conflict to emerge in 2025 when the peacekeepers' mission comes up for renewal.<ref name="Rozovsky-2023" /> According to [[International Crisis Group]], the Russian peacekeeping mission is too small to enforce the ceasefire conditions and protect civilians throughout Artsakh.<ref name="crisisgroup-2021">{{Cite web|date=2021-06-09|title=Post-war Prospects for Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagorno-karabakh-conflict/264-post-war-prospects-nagorno-karabakh|access-date=2023-08-01|website=www.crisisgroup.org|language=en}}</ref> Azerbaijan has also refused to agree on a clear definition of the peacekeeper's mandate, which analysts have said have contributed to their inaction.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-08-09|title=Warding Off Renewed War in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagorno-karabakh-conflict/warding-renewed-war-nagorno-karabakh|access-date=2023-08-01|website=www.crisisgroup.org|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Rozovsky-2023" /><ref name="crisisgroup-2021"/>
Many countries, supranational entities, and human rights observers have criticised the inaction of the Russian peacekeepers and proposed they be replaced with peacekeepers from the UN, OSCE, or EU.<ref name="GHEORGHE"/><ref name="Reuters"/><ref name="euronews-2016" /><ref name="Turp-Balazs-2023"/>
Earlier in the blockade, before Azerbaijan barred their passage through the Lachin corridor, the Russian peacekeepers were criticised for profiting off the blockade by charging locals several thousand dollars per vehicle of essential goods.<ref name="Tumakova-2023">{{Cite web|last=Tumakova|first=Irina|date=2023-03-24|title='The thing I miss the most? Freedom' - Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh talk about their lives under the ongoing blockade by Azerbaijani 'eco-activists'|url=https://novayagazeta.eu/articles/2023/03/24/the-thing-i-miss-the-most-freedom-en|access-date=2023-03-29|website=Novaya Gazeta Europe|quote=We're no longer talking about eco-activists...Now, Baku sends students there. If you have [failed in some class], you are asked: want to get a good grade? And so you get on the bus. You stand in the cold for a bit, yell something — that's it.}}</ref><ref name="El Pais-2023" /> Artsakh locals are also frustrated with the fact that the Russian peacekeepers are free to transport supplies for themselves via helicopter, while actual residents of the region face a scarcity of supplies and public transportation.<ref name="Eurasianet-2023b" /><ref name="OC Media-2023f" />
Certain analysts have put the inaction of the peacekeepers in Artsakh within the larger trend of Russia increasingly failing to assist Armenia in general.<ref name="www.al-monitor.com-2023" /> Despite officially being Armenia's security guarantor, Russia did not intervene during [[September 2022 Armenia–Azerbaijan clashes|Azerbaijan's September 2022 attacks on Armenia]] and following [[Armenia–Azerbaijan border crisis (2021–present)#Armenian territory occupied by Azerbaijan|Azerbaijan's occupation of Armenian territory]] (both distinct from Nagorno-Karabakh).<ref name="Mejlumyan-2022">{{Cite news|last=Mejlumyan|first=Ani|date=2022-09-15|title=For Armenians, CSTO missing in action|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/for-armenians-csto-missing-in-action}}</ref> Certain analysts and have said that Russia's invasion of Ukraine, or Russia's economic interests in Azerbaijani oil may be contributing to the inaction of the peacekeepers.<ref name="Oltramonti" /><ref name="provmag" />
== Proposed solutions ==
[[File:Ilham Aliyev held meeting with President of European Council and Prime Minister of Armenia in Brussels 03.jpg|thumb|Nikol Pashinyan, Ilham Aliyev and President of the European Council [[Charles Michel]] in Brussels, 14 May 2023]]
Various solutions have been proposed to either pressure Azerbaijan to end its blockade or to provide humanitarian relief to the struggling Armenian population.
Initially, Azerbaijan used false environmentalist narratives as a guise to justify its blockade and it demanded the entry of environmental monitors as a condition to lift the blockade.<ref name="Gavin-2022" /><ref name="ahmedbeyli"/><ref name="Smeltzer-2023" /> Artsakh officials proposed the involvement of international environmental inspectors as a solution to dispel the allegation of that environmental standards were being violated;<ref name="Civilnet-2022a">{{Cite web|date=2022-12-15|title=Artsakh does not oppose mine checks by international specialists: Facts versus Azerbaijan's propaganda|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/686596/artsakh-does-not-oppose-mine-checks-by-international-specialists-facts-versus-azerbaijans-propaganda/|access-date=2022-12-28|website=Civilnet|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="armenpress-2022">{{Cite web|title=Artsakh's government applies for an international ecological examination of|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1100751.html|access-date=2022-12-29|website=armenpress.am|date=28 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="MassisPost-2022a"/> however, Azerbaijani officials consistently refuse to communicate with the Artsakh government.<ref name="Kitachayev-2022"/><ref name="jam-news.net"/>
Officials from Russia and the EU suggested that X-ray scanners or other "technical means" could be used to dispel allegations that the Lachin corridor was being used for military purposes, despite the fact that the ceasefire agreement does not limit the use of the road to humanitarian needs.<ref>{{Cite web|last=amartikian|date=2023-03-21|title=The 100th day of the Lachin corridor blockade|url=https://jam-news.net/100th-day-of-the-lachin-corridor-blockade/|access-date=2023-07-17|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|title=Lavrov, in Baku, tries to shore up shaky Russia-Azerbaijan "alliance"|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/lavrov-in-baku-tries-to-shore-up-shaky-russia-azerbaijan-alliance}}</ref><ref name="CEPA-2023" /> In March 2023, Artsakh government officials approved the idea, provided that the X-ray machines would be controlled by the Russian peacekeepers.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Service|first=RFE/RL's Armenian|title=Five Killed In Shootout Between Karabakh-Armenian Police, Azerbaijani Military|language=en|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-azerbaijan-killed-wounded-armed-incident-nagorno-karabakh/32302862.html|access-date=2023-07-17}}</ref><ref name="El Pais-2023" /> Azerbaijan, instead, unilaterally installed a military checkpoint in violation of the ceasefire agreement with American-made [[Smiths Detection]] X-ray scanners.<ref>{{Cite web|last=amartikian|date=2023-05-04|title=Consequences of the ongoing blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://jam-news.net/ongoing-blockade-in-nk/|access-date=2023-07-17|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=LLC|first=Helix Consulting|title=Азербайджан установил рентгеновские сканеры в Лачинском коридоре - aysor.am - Горячие новости из Армении|url=https://www.aysor.am/ru/news/2023/05/02/%D1%80%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%82%D0%B3%D0%B5%D0%BD-%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B5%D1%80%D1%8B/2088879|access-date=2023-07-17|website=www.aysor.am|language=en}}</ref>
Other solutions that have been proposed include a humanitarian air-corridor that is reminiscent of the Berlin airlift and a land-based blockade-busting humanitarian convey.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-02-05|title=The authorities of Nagorno Karabakh demand an airlift like the one in Berlin in the Cold War before the blockade of Azerbaijan|url=https://westobserver.com/news/europe/the-authorities-of-nagorno-karabakh-demand-an-airlift-like-the-one-in-berlin-in-the-cold-war-before-the-blockade-of-azerbaijan/|access-date=2023-07-17|website=West Observer|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=An Appeal from Democracy Today: an alarming situation in Armenia|url=https://www.wfm-igp.org/news/an-appeal-from-democracy-today-an-alarming-situation-in-armenia/|access-date=2023-07-17|website=WFM/IGP|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=Josiah|date=2023-05-04|title=Diplomacy Doesn't End Blockades: Airlifts Do|url=https://www.aei.org/foreign-and-defense-policy/diplomacy-doesnt-end-blockades-airlifts-do/|access-date=2023-07-17|website=American Enterprise Institute - AEI|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-07-15|title=Russia urges Armenia and Azerbaijan to swiftly pursue 'peace treaty'|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/744715/russia-urges-armenia-and-azerbaijan-to-swiftly-pursue-peace-treaty/|access-date=2023-07-17|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US}}</ref> Officials from the [[European Union|EU]], [[Council of Europe|PACE]], and Armenia have suggested that the Russian peacekeepers be replaced with international peacekeepers, a proposal which Russia and Azerbaijan have rejected.<ref>{{Cite web|first1=Pedro|last1=Marques|first2=Marina|last2=Kaljurand|first3=Isabel|last3=Santos|first4=Robert|last4=Hajšel|first5=Evin|last5=Incir|first6=Nathalie|last6=Loiseau|first7=Petras|last7=Auštrevičius|first8=Izaskun|last8=Bilbao Barandica|first9=Dita|last9=Charanzová|first10=Olivier|last10=Chastel|first11=Katalin|last11=Cseh|first12=Vlad|last12=Gheorghe|first13=Klemen|last13=Grošelj|first14=Bernard|last14=Guetta|first15=Svenja|last15=Hahn|first16=Karin|last16=Karlsbro|first17=Karen|last17=Melchior|first18=Javier|last18=Nart|first19=Urmas|last19=Paet|first20=Frédérique|last20=Ries|first21=Michal|last21=Šimečka|first22=Nicolae|last22=Ștefănuță|first23=Ramona|last23=Strugariu|first24=Hilde|last24=Vautmans|first25=Viola|last25=von Cramon‑Taubadel|first26=Charlie|last26=Weimers|first27=Emmanouil|last27=Fragkos|first28=Elżbieta|last28=Kruk|first29=Angel|last29=Dzhambazki|first30=Anna|last30=Zalewska|first31=Joachim Stanisław|last31=Brudziński|first32=Assita|last32=Kanko|first33=Eugen|last33=Jurzyca|first34=Adam|last34=Bielan|first35=Carlo|last35=Fidanza|first36=Bert‑Jan|last36=Ruissen|first37=Stelios|last37=Kouloglou|first38=Fabio Massimo|last38=Castaldo|title=JOINT MOTION FOR A RESOLUTION on the humanitarian consequences of the blockade in Nagorno-Karabakh {{!}} RC-B9-0075/2023 {{!}} European Parliament|url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/RC-9-2023-0075_EN.html|access-date=2023-07-18|website=www.europarl.europa.eu|language=en|quote=Th EU Parliament...Condemns the inaction of Russian 'peacekeepers'; considers that their replacement with OSCE international peacekeepers, under a UN mandate, should be negotiated urgently.}}</ref><ref name="Turp-Balazs-2023" /><ref name="caucasuswatch-2023c" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Oertel|first=Barbara|date=2023-01-11|title=Konflikt um Bergkarabach: Paschinjan legt sich mit Moskau an|language=de|work=Die Tageszeitung: taz|url=https://taz.de/!5908329/|access-date=2023-07-18|issn=0931-9085}}</ref>
The former Prime Minister of Denmark and [[NATO Secretary General]], [[Anders Fogh Rasmussen]], proposed European and American military support to Armenia as an emerging democracy to deter a large-scale conflict and/or ethnic cleansing in Artsakh.<ref name="Rasmussen-2023"/><ref name="Kucera-2023c"/>
The application of economic and [[Magnitsky legislation|Magnitsky sanctions]] against Azerbaijan has also been proposed by US and EU officials, as well as by political analysts, academics, and human rights organizations.<ref>{{Cite web|last=ahmedbeyli|first=samira|date=2023-03-17|title=European Parliament calls for sanctions against officials in Azerbaijan|url=https://jam-news.net/european-parliament-report-on-azerbaijan/|access-date=2023-07-17|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Adam Schiff Urges Biden to Defend Democracy and Human Rights in Armenia and Artsakh|url=https://schiff.house.gov/news/press-releases/adam-schiff-urges-biden-to-defend-democracy-and-human-rights-in-armenia-and-artsakh|access-date=2023-07-17|website=schiff.house.gov|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Aslanian|first=Karlen|date=2023-03-08|title=U.S. Rules Out Sanctions On Baku Over Karabakh Blockade|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32308629.html|access-date=2023-07-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Schiff Expresses Concern Over Azerbaijan Comments to State Department Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations|url=https://schiff.house.gov/news/press-releases/schiff-expresses-concern-over-azerbaijan-comments-to-state-department-senior-advisor-for-caucasus-negotiations|access-date=2023-07-17|website=schiff.house.gov|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Johnson|first=Josiah|date=2023-06-15|title=Azerbaijan's Attack on American Company Should End Sanctions Waiver|url=https://www.aei.org/foreign-and-defense-policy/azerbaijans-attack-on-american-company-should-end-sanctions-waiver/|access-date=2023-07-17|website=American Enterprise Institute - AEI|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Setrakian|first=Lara|date=2022-12-26|title=The West Must Act to Avert War in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/12/26/nagorno-karabakh-lachin-corridor-protests-armenia-azerbaijan/|access-date=2023-07-17|website=Foreign Policy|language=en-US}}</ref> Political analysts and former US officials, [[Sam Brownback]] and [[Michael Rubin (historian)|Michael Rubin]], say that the US should also enforce the Humanitarian Corridors Act, which prevents the US from providing assistance to countries that restrict the transport of humanitarian aid.<ref name="Korah" /><ref>{{Cite web|last=Kirchen|first=Sofia|date=2023-06-28|title=Safeguarding the civilians of Artsakh|url=https://armenianweekly.com/2023/06/28/safeguarding-the-civilians-of-artsakh/|access-date=2023-07-19|website=The Armenian Weekly|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Rubin|first=Michael|date=2023-07-17|title=Punishing blockades, not endless talk, is the path to peace|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/punishing-blockades-not-endless-talk-is-the-path-to-peace|access-date=2023-07-24|website=Washington Examiner|language=en}}</ref> [[Genocide Watch]] and the [[Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention]] named several Western entities which should halt military and economic support to Azerbaijan: including NATO, the EU, US, [[INKAS#Criticism|Canada]], Israel, and Ukraine.<ref name="Hill-2022" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Red Flag Alert for Genocide - Azerbaijan Update 6|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/red-flag-alerts/red-flag-alert-for-genocide---azerbaijan-update-6|access-date=2023-07-18|website=Lemkin Institute|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Red Flag Alert for Genocide - Azerbaijan - Update 3|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/red-flag-alerts/red-flag-alert-for-genocide---azerbaijan---update-3|access-date=2023-07-18|website=Lemkin Institute|language=en}}</ref> Genocide Watch and the Lemkin Institute also proposed that the US re-institute the [[Section 907|907 Freedom Support Act]] which was waived by the Biden administration that had previously banned US military assistance to Azerbaijan.<ref name="Hill" /><ref name="openl" /> EU officials and genocide scholars have emphasized self-determination, both as a human right internationally recognized and as a form of genocide prevention, given the extreme [[Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan|Armenophobia within Azerbaijan]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Bedevian|first=Astghik|date=2023-03-02|title=German Leader Backs Karabakh's Right To Self-Determination|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32296669.html|access-date=2023-07-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-05-30|title=A Peace to End All Peace? Statement on the International Actors Sponsoring So-Called Peace Negotiations Between Armenia and Azerbaijan|url=https://www.lemkininstitute.com/statements-new-page/a-peace-to-end-all-peace%3F--statement-on-the-international-actors-sponsoring-so-called-peace-negotiations-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan-|website=The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention}}</ref>
Armenian officials have proposed a demilitarized zone around Artsakh with an "international presence" that guarantees the safety and rights of the ethnic Armenian population.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Service|first=RFE/RL's Armenian|title=Armenian Prime Minister Proposes Demilitarized Zone Around Nagorno-Karabakh|language=en|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-nagorno-karabakh-proposal-demilitarized-zone/32274039.html|access-date=2023-07-18}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Aslanian|first=Karlen|date=2023-03-10|title=Yerevan Links Armenian-Azeri Peace Deal To Karabakh's Security|language=hy|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32312385.html|access-date=2023-07-18}}</ref><ref name="pminister" /> The Artsakh government has appealed to UN members to recognize the region's independence according to "remedial secession," a legal concept employed to [[Kosovo independence precedent#Armenia, Azerbaijan, Artsakh|justify Kosovo's independence from Serbia]]. According to the principle of remedial secession, a group of people can unilaterally secede in order to protect themselves from the parent state's oppressive regime.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-07-28|title=Artsakh Appeals to UN for Independence {{!}} Atlas News|url=https://theatlasnews.co/brief/2023/07/28/artsakh-appeals-to-un-for-independence/|access-date=2023-07-31|language=en-US}}</ref>
Azerbaijani President Aliyev said that he will not yield to international pressure, commenting "Nobody can influence us."<ref name="Atasuntsev-2021">{{Cite web|last=Atasuntsev|first=Alexander|date=13 November 2021|title=Как и чем живет Карабах спустя год после войны. Репортаж|url=https://www.rbc.ru/politics/13/11/2021/6183a8279a79470efb09bbd3|access-date=2023-02-13|website=РБК|language=ru}}</ref><ref name="Gevorgyan-2020">{{Cite web|last=Gevorgyan|first=Nare|date=2020-11-24|title=От капитуляции до вопросов продовольственной безопасности и до роста цен на хлеб|url=https://www.panorama.am/ru/news/2020/11/24/капитуляции-цен-на-хлеб/2407653|access-date=2023-02-13|website=www.panorama.am|language=en}}</ref> He also said that Artsakh residents will not receive any special status or autonomy and must be "reintegrated" as "normal citizen[s] of Azerbaijan" and threatened military action if the [[Government of Artsakh|Artsakh government]] does not disband.<ref name="ReferenceA" /><ref name="Aghayev-2023" />
== Authenticity of the environmental activism claims ==
The authenticity of the "environmental activism" of the blockade participants between 12 December 2022 and 28 April 2023 was scrutinised and condemned by many countries, international organisations, and political analysts.<ref name="Kitachayev-2022" /><ref name="Bulut">{{Cite web|last=Bulut|first=Uzay|date=2022-12-30|title=Azerbaijan & Turkey's Ominous Assault against Armenians|url=https://providencemag.com/2022/12/azerbaijan-turkeys-ominous-assault-against-armenians/|access-date=2022-12-31|website=Providence|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="BBC2"/> It is widely suspected that the eco-protest component of the blockade was orchestrated by the Azerbaijani government.<ref name="DragsOn"/><ref name="OC Media-2023c" /> There is little evidence to suggest that there was a specific environmental issue within Artsakh that justified the protests.<ref name="Gavin-2022">{{cite news|title=Supplies begin to run low as Nagorno-Karabakh blockade continues|url=https://eurasianet.org/supplies-begin-to-run-low-as-nagorno-karabakh-blockade-continues|access-date=19 December 2022|work=Eurasianet|date=19 December 2022|language=en}}</ref> The Azerbaijani government has since formalised its blockade by shutting down an alternate dirt-path that was being used by people to try and bypass the blockade and by installing a military checkpoint at the Lachin corridor on 22 April 2023.<ref name="Gray-2023a" /><ref name="Avetisyan-2023b" /><ref name="OC Media-2023c" />
Critics argued that the Azerbaijani government was linked to the eco-protest: emphasizing that many of the protesters had government connections, were government-sponsored, the protest occurred in an area that is officially prohibited to the public and to independent journalists, and Azerbaijani authorities usually shut down spontaneous protests.<ref name="eurasianet" /><ref name="The Intercept-2023" /><ref name="Vanian-2022" /> The foreign minister of Azerbaijan, [[Jeyhun Bayramov]] also said that the demands of the eco-protesters needed to be met in order to lift the blockade.<ref name="Reuters-2022b" /> The alleged activists suspended their action following the installation of a military checkpoint to Artsakh and after a meeting with Aydin Karimov — a special representative of the Azerbaijani president — who asked them to disperse.<ref name="Eurasianet-2023a" />
Azerbaijan also paid public relations firms to produce expert-signed op-eds which recited Azerbaijani propaganda that environmental concerns motivated the blockade.<ref name="Pidgeon-2023" /><ref name="Rettman-2023" /> The motivations of the eco-activists was scrutinized, with critics saying that pollution in other parts of Azerbaijan has been ignored while the government leases mining operations within Artsakh and elsewhere,<ref name="civilnet.am" /><ref name="polaris-2023" /> and many of the eco-activists demonstrated nationalistic or anti-Armenian behavior.<ref name="Gavin-2022" /><ref name="Kitachayev-2022">{{Cite web|last=Kitachayev|first=Bashir|date=16 December 2022|title=Azerbaijani roadblock cuts tens of thousands off from food, fuel and medicine|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-armenia-roadblock/|access-date=21 December 2022|website=[[openDemocracy]]}}</ref><ref name="Musayelian-2022" />
=== Involvement of the Azerbaijani government ===
According to media outlet [[Eurasianet]], there was "plenty of evidence" to indicate that the Azerbaijani government was involved in the "eco-activist" component of the blockade, such as the fact that some of the participants worked for Azerbaijani state-affiliated organizations<ref name="eurasianet" /><ref name="Shahverdyan-2022b" /> and were promoted by the Azerbaijani government.<ref name="Kucera-2023a" /><ref name="DragsOn" /> The Azerbaijani government provided the protesters with tents and food.<ref name="eurasianet" /><ref name="The Intercept-2023">{{Cite web|date=20 January 2023|title=Deconstructed: The Hidden Siege of Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://theintercept.com/2023/01/20/deconstructed-armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-03-02|website=The Intercept|language=en}}</ref> The foreign minister of Azerbaijan, [[Jeyhun Bayramov]] also said that the participants' demands needed to be met in order to lift the blockade.<ref name="Reuters-2022b">{{Cite news|date=2022-12-27|title=Azerbaijan demands Karabakh mine access as condition to end protests blocking road|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/azerbaijan-demands-karabakh-mine-access-condition-end-protests-blocking-road-2022-12-27/|url-status=live|access-date=2023-01-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230115060533/https://www.reuters.com/world/armenia-says-food-shortages-hit-nagorno-karabakh-amid-azerbaijan-blockade-2022-12-22/|archive-date=15 January 2023}}</ref>
On 25 March, in violation of [[2020 Nagorno-Karabakh ceasefire agreement|the ceasefire agreement]], Azerbaijani forces occupied new positions in Nagorno-Karabakh and closed an alternative dirt road that certain Armenians were using to bypass the blockade at the Lachin corridor.<ref name="Gray-2023a" /><ref name="Avetisyan-2023b" /><ref name="ahmedbeyli-2023b" />
On 23 April, Azerbaijan formalised its blockade by installing an illegal military checkpoint at the Lachin corridor.<ref name="Joshua" /><ref name="OC Media-2023b" /> The activists dispersed following a meeting with Aydin Karimov, a special representative of the Azerbaijani president, saying that they were "very happy with the [Azerbaijani Government's] establishment of a border control mechanism" which has reinforced the blockade.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-05-03|title=The Lachin Corridor standoff between Armenia and Azerbaijan ends, for now|url=https://globalvoices.org/2023/05/03/the-lachin-corridor-standoff-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan-ends-for-now/|access-date=2023-05-03|website=Global Voices|language=en}}</ref><ref name="OC Media-2023c" /><ref name="Eurasianet-2023a" />
Azerbaijan has an economic interest in the mines located within Artsakh; on 22 July 2022 the Azerbaijani government signed a $3 billion deal that leases mines located in Artsakh to the company Anglo Asian Mining.<ref name="civilnet.am">{{Cite web|last=Karapetyan|first=Mkrtich|date=2022-12-14|title=Chief of Staff to US President George H W Bush involved in Azerbaijani deal to take over Artsakh mine|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/686222/chief-of-staff-to-us-president-george-h-w-bush-involved-in-azerbaijani-deal-to-take-over-artsakh-mine/|access-date=2023-03-11|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="polaris-2023">{{Cite web|title=Anglo Asian Mining plc|url=https://polaris.brighterir.com/public/anglo_asian_mining/news/rns/story/x8q94ox|access-date=2023-03-11|website=polaris.brighterir.com}}</ref> Businesses connected to the family of Azerbaijan's President Aliyev are stakeholders in the mining operation.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bučko|first=Matúš|date=2023-02-28|title=The International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to end the blockade of the only corridor between Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh|url=https://www.adaptinstitute.org/the-international-court-of-justice-ordered-azerbaijan-to-end-the-blockade-of-the-only-corridor-between-armenia-and-nagorno-karabakh/28/02/2023/|access-date=2023-03-11|website=Adapt Institute|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last1=Mejlumyan|first1=Ani|last2=Natiqqizi|first2=Ulkar|date=27 Jan 2021|title=Following war with Armenia, Azerbaijan gains control of lucrative gold mines|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/following-war-with-armenia-azerbaijan-gains-control-of-lucrative-gold-mines|quote="Azerbaijan's gold industry...has been tarnished by investigative reports showing how...President Ilham Aliyev's daughters...extracted millions of dollars in profits [and] stashed them offshore...Anglo-Asian Mining received a $3 million credit line from Baku-based Pasha Bank. The bank lists the Aliyeva sisters and their maternal grandfather as its ultimate beneficial owners. "}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=alice|date=2023-07-12|title=Gadabey Protests: President Aliyev blames the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources for the crisis|url=https://www.meydan.tv/en/article/gadabey-protests-president-aliyev-blames-the-ministry-of-ecology-and-natural-resources-for-the-crisis/|access-date=2023-07-14|website=MEYDAN.TV|language=en-US|quote=An investigation conducted by the Organized Crime and Corruption Journalism Project (OCCRP) revealed the close connections between individuals in the management of the company [Anglo-Asian Mining] and the ruling [Aliyev] family, particularly with Hafiz Pashayev, the uncle of Ilham Aliyev's wife, Mehriban Aliyeva.}}</ref> The Azerbaijan government has also paid public relations firms to produce expert-signed op-eds, which recited Azerbaijani propaganda that environmental concerns motivated the ongoing blockade.<ref name="Pidgeon-2023">{{Cite web|last=Pidgeon|first=Tadhg|date=2023-01-23|title=Armenia: EU To Escalate Its Response As Crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh Deepens|url=https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/armenia-eu-to-escalate-its-response-as-crisis-in-nagorno-karabakh-deepens/|access-date=2023-01-23|website=europeanconservative.com|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Rettman-2023">{{Cite web|last=Rettman|first=Andrew|date=2023-01-17|title=EU-spin campaign blows up in Azerbaijan's face|url=https://euobserver.com/world/156607|access-date=2023-01-23|website=EUobserver|language=en|quote="Professor Bill Laurance from James Cook University in Cairns told EUobserver that a London-based PR firm called BTP+Advisers tricked him into signing an inflammatory op-ed paid for by Azerbaijan's government."}}</ref>
=== Involvement of state employees and civil servants ===
Judging by videos from the scene, those among the ranks of the participants were employees of state-owned companies,<ref name="Shahverdyan-2022b" /><ref name="eurasianet" /><ref name="Kitachayev-2022" /> military servicemen,<ref name="Gray-2023b" /><ref name="Kitachayev-2022" /> and workers from Turkish companies.<ref name="BBC2" /> Mikroskop Media analyzed about 50 videos of the blockade and concluded that among those involved were government-funded<ref name="Sukiasyan-2023">{{Cite web|last=Sukiasyan|first=Narek|date=2023-01-11|title=A looming catastrophe in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/foreign-and-security-policy/a-looming-catastrophe-in-nagorno-karabakh-6433/|access-date=2023-04-01|website=www.ips-journal.eu|language=en-GB}}</ref> Azerbaijani NGOs and representatives from the ruling New Azerbaijan Party who "have nothing to do with ecology and [the] environment."<ref name="mikroskopmedia.com">{{Cite web|last=yazılar|first=Son|date=2023-01-19|title=How much grant did "eco-activists" at the Lachin corridor receive from Azerbaijani government?|url=https://mikroskopmedia.com/en/2023/01/19/how-much-grant-did-eco-activists-at-the-lachin-corridor-receive-from-azerbaijani-government/|access-date=2023-01-28|website=Mikroskop|language=en-US|quote="According to the order signed by Ilham Aliyev on May 29, 2021, the Gashgachay, Elbeydash and Agduzdag ore deposits were leased to Turkish companies for a period of 30 years."}}</ref> Some of the participants were bused in and out from the Kharibulbul Hotel in [[Shusha]].<ref name="Mnatsakanyan" /><ref name="newsweek">{{Cite web|date=2023-03-30|title=We Have the Right Tool to Pressure Azerbaijan Over Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.newsweek.com/we-have-right-tool-pressure-azerbaijan-over-nagorno-karabakh-opinion-1790979|access-date=2023-04-24|website=Newsweek|language=en|quote=The protests seem to be coming with government approval and with protesters arriving on charter buses.}}</ref> According to Arif Yunusov, a department head of Azerbaijan's Institute for Peace and Democracy, the government bused students to the blockade site as an incentive to make up for poor school grades.<ref name="Tumakova-2023"/> An Azerbaijani student rights activist also said that students at Baku State University were promised "benefits" for participating in the blockade at the Lachin corridor.<ref>{{Cite web|last=nikoladze|first=Tatia|date=2023-04-03|title=A young activist in Armenia on Azerbaijan and resolution|url=https://jam-news.net/dialogue-between-armenia-and-azerbaijan/|access-date=2023-04-03|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref>
=== Inaccessibility of Nagorno-Karabakh to the public and independent journalists ===
The protest by the eco-activists occurred in a region officially inaccessible to the public and to independent journalists.<ref name="openDemocracy-2023" /><ref name="Meydan2022">{{Cite web|last=|date=2022-12-14|title=Müstəqil jurnalistlər Şuşa-Xankəndi yolundakı aksiyaya buraxılmadı|trans-title=Independent journalists were not allowed to participate in the action on the Shusha-Khankendi road|url=https://storage.googleapis.com/qurium/www.meydan.tv/az-article-musteqil-jurnalistler-susa-xankendi-yolundaki-aksiyaya-buraxilmadi.html|access-date=2023-03-15|website=MEYDAN.TV|language=az|quote="On December 14, Meydan TV employees Aytaj Tapdığ, Khayala Aghayeva and independent journalist Teymur Karimov were detained by civilians and black masked men while going to prepare a report from the Shusha-Khankendi road...The journalists say that before they were returned, their cameras were confiscated and their footage was deleted."}}</ref><ref name="CEPA-2023" /> Azerbaijan considers entering Nagorno-Karabakh and [[Armenian-occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh|surrounding territories]] without permission from authorities a criminal offense.<ref name="UK gov">{{cite web|title=Foreign travel Advice: Azerbaijan|url=https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/azerbaijan/safety-and-security|website=gov.uk}}</ref> In 2021, six Azerbaijani citizens were arrested for entering these territories without permission.<ref name="BBC News-2023b">{{Cite news|title=İşğaldan azad olunmuş ərazilərə icazəsiz getməyə görə həbs və ya cərimə oluna bilərsinizmi?|language=az|trans-title=Can you be arrested or fined for trespassing in demilitarized zones?|work=BBC News Azərbaycanca|url=https://www.bbc.com/azeri/azerbaijan-56015951|access-date=2023-04-01}}</ref> [[Ilham Aliyev|President Aliyev]] had previously appealed to Azerbaijani citizens to not enter these territories.<ref name="BBC News-2023b" /> Journalists and critics argued that the protesters were therefore officially endorsed by the government as they must have passed through this officially inaccessible region in order to reach the Lachin road.<ref name="Kitachayev-2023">{{Cite news|last=Kitachayev|first=Bashir|date=1 March 2023|title=Opinion {{!}} Greenwashing a blockade|language=en-US|website=OC Media|url=https://oc-media.org/opinions/opinion-greenwashing-a-blockade/|access-date=2023-04-01}}</ref><ref name="Civilnet-2022b" /><ref name="newsweek" /><ref name="CEPA-2023" />
With a handful of exceptions, only Azerbaijani journalists from state or pro-government media can directly cover the blockade going on in the Lachin corridor.<ref name="RSF-2023">{{Cite web|title=After three-month blockade, RSF urges Azerbaijan and Russian peacekeepers to let reporters visit Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://rsf.org/en/after-three-month-blockade-rsf-urges-azerbaijan-and-russian-peacekeepers-let-reporters-visit|access-date=2023-03-11|website=rsf.org|date=10 March 2023|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Russian peacekeepers deny foreign reporters access to Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://rsf.org/en/russian-peacekeepers-deny-foreign-reporters-access-nagorno-karabakh|access-date=2023-03-19|website=rsf.org|date=9 April 2021|language=en|quote="A growing number of foreign journalists are being systematically refused entry by Russian soldiers," said Jeanne Cavelier, the head of Reporters Without Borders's Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk...Access to Nagorno-Karabakh is also restricted via Azerbaijan, which is ruled by the authoritarian President Ilham Aliyev. TV crews from France 24 and the European channel Arte made highly controlled visits from Azerbaijan and were not able to report freely."}}</ref><ref name="CEPA-2023" /> A Spanish journalist was escorted to the blockade by "guides" from an Azerbaijani state-owned government group; however, the journalist was not permitted to speak with the Russian peacekeepers and was deliberately and grossly misquoted by Azeri state media as saying that vehicles could pass freely when, in fact, he said the exact opposite.<ref name="RSF-2023" /><ref name="CEPA-2023" /> The journalist's article was titled "The false ecologists who besiege a city and don't let anyone enter" but Azertac reported him as saying "Vehicles pass here without any problems. You just see people demonstrating to protect nature." [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|The Council of Europe]] described Azerbaijan's "refusal to allow an independent third-party fact-finding mission...[as] fuel[ing] defiance and mistrust."<ref name="CEPA-2023" />
[[Meydan TV]] reported that two of its employees and an independent journalist were "detained by civilians and black masked men while going to prepare a report" from the blockade location. Before being escorted to Baku, their cameras were confiscated and their footage was deleted.<ref name="Meydan2022" />
=== Scrutiny of the "protesters" and their alleged environmental concerns ===
With regards to the liberal nature of the civil protest, critics have noted that [[freedom of assembly]] is not a civil right normally practiced in Azerbaijan, where protests are quickly stopped by authorities.<ref name="Vanian-2022">{{Cite web|last=Vanian|first=Marut|date=21 December 2022|title=Inside Stepanakert As Azerbaijani Blockade Continues|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/stepanakert-nagorno-karabakh-azerbaijan-blockade/32185997.html|access-date=2022-12-22|website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Wesolowsky-2022">{{Cite web|last=Wesolowsky|first=Tony|date=22 December 2022|title=Blocking Of Key Nagorno-Karabakh Artery Triggers Fresh Tensions Between Armenia And Azerbaijan|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-azerbain-karabakh-lachin-blockage/32189647.html|access-date=2022-12-22|website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|language=en}}</ref><ref name="fletcherforum.org">{{Cite web|last=Avaneszadeh|first=Alex|date=14 February 2023|title=What Does Azerbaijan's Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh Mean?|url=http://www.fletcherforum.org/the-rostrum/2023/2/14/what-does-azerbaijans-blockade-of-nagorno-karabakh-mean|access-date=2023-02-15|website=The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs|language=en-US}}</ref> While Azerbaijan permitted the self-declared "eco-protest" on the Lachin corridor for several months, it simultaneously violently repressed genuine protests in other places in its country, including protests motivated by actual environmental concerns.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-07-13|title=Azerbaijan sets up another blockade, this time on its own people|url=https://www.civilnet.am/en/news/744469/azerbaijan-sets-up-another-blockade-this-time-on-its-own-people/|access-date=2023-07-14|website=CIVILNET|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Geybullayeva|first=Arzu|date=2022-12-24|title=Police in Azerbaijan detain protesters on the day of activist's trial|url=https://globalvoices.org/2022/12/24/police-in-azerbaijan-detain-protesters-on-the-day-of-activists-trial/|access-date=2023-03-16|website=Global Voices|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=alice|date=2023-06-23|title=Friday Wrap-up: protest against an artificial lake causes national turmoil|url=https://www.meydan.tv/en/article/friday-wrap-up-protest-against-an-artificial-lake-causes-national-turmoil/|access-date=2023-07-14|website=MEYDAN.TV|language=en-US}}</ref> Sheila Paylan, international human rights lawyer, points out that "Azerbaijan's sudden change of heart in respect of these particular protests is therefore ''per se'' discriminatory as they exclusively target Armenians."<ref name="Paylan-2023">{{Cite web|last=Paylan|first=Sheila|date=2023-03-16|title=When Might Is Wrong: Addressing Azerbaijan's Refusal to Comply with the ICJ's Order to Unblock the Lachin Corridor|url=https://opiniojuris.org/2023/03/16/when-might-is-wrong-addressing-azerbaijans-refusal-to-comply-with-the-icjs-order-to-unblock-the-lachin-corridor/|access-date=2023-03-16|website=Opinio Juris|language=en-US}}</ref>
The participants of the blockade did not have an extensive history of eco-activism.<ref name="Gavin-2022" /> The blockade action appeared more political than environmental.<ref name="BBC2" /> The participants and certain government officials claim that the Artsakh government is illegally mining metal and refuse requests for the environmental impact to be inspected.<ref name="Gavin-2022" /><ref name="ahmedbeyli" /><ref name="DragsOn" /> Artsakh officials proposed the involvement of international environmental inspectors as a solution;<ref name="Civilnet-2022a"/><ref name="armenpress-2022"/> however, Azerbaijani officials consistently refuse to communicate with Artsakh representatives,<ref name="Kitachayev-2022" /><ref name="jam-news.net" /> demanding the entry of Azerbaijani inspectors as a condition for lifting the blockade.<ref name="euronews.com" /><ref name="ahmedbeyli" />
Critics have argued that Azerbaijan is weaponizing environmentalism in order to achieve its goals.<ref name="Maghakyan-2023">{{Cite magazine|last=Maghakyan|first=Simon|date=2023-02-22|title=Azerbaijan Weaponized Environmentalism for Ethnic Cleansing|url=https://time.com/6257467/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-lachin-environment-icj/|url-access=registration|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227145605/https://time.com/6257467/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-lachin-environment-icj/|archive-date=27 February 2023|access-date=2023-04-01|magazine=Time|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Lo|first=Joe|date=2023-01-27|title=Azerbaijan weaponises conservation law in conflict with Armenia|url=https://www.climatechangenews.com/2023/01/27/azerbaijan-weaponises-conservation-law-in-conflict-with-armenia/|access-date=2023-03-02|website=Climate Home News|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Kitachayev-2023" /> Other critics have said that the environmental pollution created by Azerbaijan's own extraction of fossil fuels – which generates a third of the country's GDP and 88% of its export revenue – has been ignored while the government and the protesters focus on Nagorno-Karabakh.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Gavin|first1=Gabriel|last2=Guillot|first2=Louise|date=2023-02-13|title=Azerbaijan launches environmental offensive against Armenia|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/azerbaijan-launch-environment-offensive-armenia-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-02-13|website=Politico|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="fletcherforum.org"/><ref name="CD">{{Cite web|last=Dennett|first=Charlotte|date=2023-03-24|title=Can Another Armenian Genocide be Stopped?|url=https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/03/24/can-another-armenian-genocide-be-stopped/|access-date=2023-05-02|website=CounterPunch.org|language=en-US|quote=The Azeris claim that they are legitimately protesting gold mining operations in Artsakh that pose risks to the environment, a rather dubious argument coming from them since Azerbaijan hosts some of the largest oil-polluting operations in the region, if not the world.}}</ref> In a Time article, Simon Maghakyan described Azerbaijan as a "petro-aggressor", writing that "[making] a mockery of the existential crisis we face as a species, [the blockade] serves to further corrode Azerbaijan's civil society."<ref name="Maghakyan-2023" /> He also argues that the [[Absheron Peninsula]] of Azerbaijan, considered by local scientists to be "the ecologically most devastated area in the world" has been ignored during the blockade.<ref name="Maghakyan-2023" /> According to investigative journalist Charlotte Dennett, the alleged environmental concerns of the Azeri activists are "rather dubious ... since Azerbaijan hosts some of the largest oil-polluting operations in the region, if not the world."<ref name="CD" /> Mikroskop Media has pointed out that Azerbaijan itself has recently leased the extraction of minerals in Kalbajar, a region Artsakh surrendered to Azerbaijan in 2020.<ref name="mikroskopmedia.com" />
A number of inconsistencies have been observed between the visible attitudes of the participants and the demands that an environmentalist mobilization usually raises. For example, the participants have carried a large flag of Azerbaijan, and many of them have wrapped national flags around themselves. Furthermore, several participants wore fur coats, which sparked motivations about the authenticity of their environmentalism.<ref name="BBC2"/>
Nationalist slogans took the place of environmental ones, and the participants were photographed making the hand symbol of the [[Grey Wolves (organization)|Gray Wolves]], a Turkish ultra-nationalist organization with a history of committing violence against minorities in Turkey, including Armenians.<ref name="Gavin-2022" /><ref name="Kitachayev-2022"/><ref name="Musayelian-2022">{{Cite news|last=Musayelian|first=Lusine|date=14 December 2022|title=Who Are The Azerbaijani Eco-Activists?|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32176325.html|access-date=2022-12-24|website=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|language=hy}}</ref> The participants were recorded shouting Azerbaijani military chants, such as "the best soldier is the Azerbaijani soldier."<ref name="Infoteka-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-01-09|title=Очередной "эко-активист" оказался военнослужащим ВС Азербайджана|url=https://infoteka24.ru/2023/01/09/100848/|access-date=2023-01-09|website=Инфотека 24|language=ru-RU}}</ref>
Early in the blockade, the participants released white doves (i.e. pigeons) to symbolically represent peace among nations; however, one of the pigeons was accidentally strangled to death by a woman in a fur coat as she gripped the bird and shouted through a loudspeaker. The suffocated pigeon became a symbol for the intentions of the blockade to Armenians, with hashtags such as "#WeAreThePigeon" being posted on social media.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Geybullayeva|first=Arzu|date=2022-12-23|title=Pundits say unblocking the Lachin Corridor is the only way to avoid humanitarian crisis|url=https://globalvoices.org/2022/12/23/pundits-say-unblocking-the-lachin-corridor-is-the-only-way-to-avoid-humanitarian-crisis/|access-date=2023-01-08|website=Global Voices|language=en}}</ref> One resident told OC Media: "They say we should live peacefully together, but they want to suffocate us like that pigeon she strangled to death. It was a hint, many just didn't get it. They just want to do the same with us."<ref name="Vanyan-2022">{{Cite web|last=Vanyan|first=Marut|date=18 December 2022|title=Nagorno-Karabakh under siege|url=https://oc-media.org/features/nagorno-karabakh-under-siege/|access-date=2023-03-20|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Lawsuits==
=== International Court of Justice ===
[[Armenia]] applied to the [[International Court of Justice]] with a request to oblige [[Azerbaijan]] to stop organizing and supporting the alleged demonstrations that have blocked free movement in both directions through the Lachin corridor. The hearing was part of a larger case that Armenia filed in 2020 alleging Azerbaijan "has breached a convention against racial discrimination".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Armenia filed a lawsuit against Azerbaijan at the International Court of Justice|url=http://radar.am/en/news/politics-2544611099/|access-date=2023-01-03|website=Radar.am}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/180/180-20221229-PRE_01-00-EN.pdf|title=Application of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (Armenia v. Azerbaijan)}}</ref>
On 22 February 2023 the court reached a legally binding ruling after a 13–2 vote, thereby satisfying the request from Armenia and ordering Azerbaijan to "take all measures at its disposal to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions,"<ref>{{Cite news|title=UN Court Orders Azerbaijan To Unblock Lachin Corridor Amid Armenian Accusations Of 'Ethnic Cleansing'|language=en|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/azarbaijan-un-court-unblock-lachin-corridor-karabakh-armenia/32283560.html|access-date=2023-02-23}}</ref><ref name="ICJ-2023">{{Cite web|date=2023-02-22|title=The Court indicates a provisional measure to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor|url=https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/180-20230222-PRE-01-00-EN_2.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223183843/https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/180-20230222-PRE-01-00-EN_2.pdf|archive-date=2023-02-23|access-date=2023-02-23|website=International Court of Justice}}</ref> The court declined Armenia's request to order Azerbaijan to "cease its orchestration and support of the alleged 'protests' in Lachin corridor," considering this further measure unwarranted given the previously approved directive.
The court also stated that Armenia had not provided sufficient evidence that Azerbaijan is disrupting the supply of natural gas to ratify Armenia's additional request to direct Azerbaijan to "immediately fully restore and refrain from disrupting or impeding the provision of natural gas and other public utilities to Nagorno-Karabakh."<ref>{{cite web|title=Order on the request for provisional measures|url=https://www.icj-cij.org/public/files/case-related/180/180-20230222-ORD-01-00-EN.pdf|website=The International Court of Justice|access-date=6 March 2023|date=22 February 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Kucera|first=Joshua|date=23 February 2023|title=International court orders Azerbaijan to "ensure movement" on blockaded road|work=Eurasianet|url=https://eurasianet.org/international-court-orders-azerbaijan-to-ensure-movement-on-blockaded-road|access-date=6 March 2023}}</ref> On the same day the court unanimously rejected the counterclaim filed by Azerbaijan, requesting for provisional measures against Armenia on alleged transportation and placing of mines.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-02-22|title=The Court rejects the Request for the indication of provisional measures submitted by the Republic of Azerbaijan on 4 January 2023|url=https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/181-20230222-PRE-01-00-EN_1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230223183838/https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/2023-02/181-20230222-PRE-01-00-EN_1.pdf|archive-date=2023-02-23|access-date=2023-02-23|website=International Court of Justice}}</ref> To date, Azerbaijan has ignored the ICJ order.<ref name="provmag" />
=== European Court of Human Rights ===
On 14 December 2022, Armenia applied to the [[European Court of Human Rights|ECHR]] requesting it to order Azerbaijan to unblock Lachin corridor.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Armenia appeals to ECHR requesting to apply interim measures against Azerbaijan and oblige to unblock Lachin Corridor|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1099680.html|access-date=2023-01-18|website=armenpress.am|date=14 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Rights Courts Rejects Azerbaijan's Appeal, Alert European Ministers of its Ruling on Lachin Blockade – Asbarez.com|date=16 January 2023 |url=https://www.asbarez.com/rights-courts-rejects-azerbaijans-appeal-alert-european-ministers-of-its-ruling-on-lachin-blockade/|access-date=2023-01-18|language=en-US}}</ref> In turn, Azerbaijan applied to the ECHR on 22 December, demanding to annul the decision to apply measures against itself and to impose interim measures against Armenia. [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|PACE]] monitors independently concluded that despite Azerbaijan's denial of the existence of a blockade – "the movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor is severely obstructed" describing it as an "unlawful and illegitimate obstruction".<ref name="CEPA-2023" /> The mirror application that Azerbaijan brought against Armenia was rejected by the ECHR.<ref name="PACE-2023b" />
On 17 January, the ECHR sent an urgent notice on the issue of the Lachin corridor to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe satisfying the request made by Armenia and also rejected Azerbaijan's request to take measures against Armenia.<ref>{{Cite web|title=ECHR rejects Azerbaijan's requests, sends urgent notification to Committee of Ministers of Council of Europe|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1101825/|access-date=2023-01-18|website=armenpress.am|date=17 January 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref name="HUDOC-2022" />
==Reactions==
[[File:Environmental action on Lachin - Khankendi road.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Soldiers of the peacekeeping contingent of the Russian Defense Ministry during the blockade]]
Numerous countries, supranational organizations, and human rights observers have condemned Azerbaijan's blockade and consider it to be a form of [[hybrid warfare]],<ref name="Oltramonti" /><ref name="Democracy Now!-2023" /><ref name="Green-2022" /> ethnic cleansing,<ref name="Bulut" /><ref name="Johnson-2023" /> and genocide.<ref name="Ռ/Կ-2023" /><ref name="Genocide Warning: Nagorno Karabakh">{{Cite web|title=Genocide Warning: Nagorno Karabakh|url=https://www.genocidewarning-nk.com/|access-date=2022-12-28|website=120,000 people are under siege.|language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="IAGS-2023" />
Various critics argue that the conflict is not being presented in the West in the same light as [[Russian invasion of Ukraine|Russia's invasion of Ukraine]], despite the fact that Armenia and Artsakh are making democratic reforms against Azerbaijan's increasingly authoritarian state.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Suny|first=Ronald|title=The long-simmering Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict is boiling over while the West and Russia look elsewhere|url=http://theconversation.com/the-long-simmering-armenia-azerbaijan-conflict-is-boiling-over-while-the-west-and-russia-look-elsewhere-203702|access-date=2023-04-19|website=The Conversation|date=13 April 2023|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-03-31|title=Dreaming of Peace {{!}} On the Ground: Artsakh|url=https://refugeworldwide.com/news/dreaming-of-peace-on-the-ground-artsakh|access-date=2023-04-19|website=Refuge Worldwide|language=en|quote=In the latest Freedom House Report, Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia are among the partly-free countries, and Azerbaijan is among the not free countries. How can the leading democratic countries turn a blind eye and throw us into the arms of tyranny?}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Galitsky|first=Alex|date=2022-10-04|title=Azerbaijan's Aggression Has Forced Armenia Into Russia's Arms|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/10/04/azerbaijan-aggression-armenia-russia-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-08-02|website=Foreign Policy|language=en-US|quote=Yet if the purpose of the West's containment strategy is to push back against the type of authoritarian expansionism Russia is undertaking against Ukraine, it's hard to imagine how investing in a state like Azerbaijan—a corrupt, authoritarian regime that outcompetes Russia and Iran in the race to the bottom on human rights—projects a message of democratic solidarity, particularly when it comes at the expense of a fledgling democracy like Armenia.}}</ref> [[Freedom House]] wrote "there are abundant indications that an expansion of Baku's control over Nagorno-Karabakh and parts of Armenia would eliminate the freedoms and security of local people in much the same way [as Moscow's seizure of Ukrainian territory]."<ref name="Smeltzer-2023" /> However, unlike Ukraine, analysts have noted that the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh are alone in this humanitarian crisis and that the international response has been limited to statements against the blockade instead of meaningful action.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Alvarez|first1=Alexander|last2=Muller|first2=Adam|last3=Rich|first3=Jennifer E.|last4=Theriault|first4=Henry|date=2023-08-01|title=The Azerbaijani Blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the ICJ Decision: Can the Destruction of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and the NKR Armenian People Be Prevented?|url=https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/GSI-2023-0722|journal=Genocide Studies International|language=en|volume=15|issue=1|pages=1–6|doi=10.3138/GSI-2023-0722|s2cid=261024549|issn=2291-1847|quote=Even when members of the international community have spoken out against the blockade, their words have not been accompanied by meaningful action. Furthermore, most—if not all—of the world's governing bodies have maintained a relativist approach to the situation, ignoring the growing asymmetry of power and obscuring the reality that Azerbaijan is the unprovoked aggressor. Even when the situation has been seen as a conflict rather than as a one-sided human rights catastrophe, though, there has been no meaningful intervention. Ultimately, there is not a single international player helping NKR Armenians survive.}}</ref><ref name="Hauer-2023"/><ref>{{Cite web|last1=Patapoutian|first1=Ardem|last2=Cheterian|first2=Vicken|title=US can help ease the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh - The Boston Globe|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2023/08/16/opinion/armenia-nagorno-karabakh-blockade-azerbaijan/|access-date=2023-09-15|website=BostonGlobe.com|language=en-US|quote=Armenia is left alone against this powerful alliance [between Azerbaijan and Turkey]. Russia, which on paper has a security alliance with Armenia, has been preoccupied with its war in Ukraine or unwilling to intervene.}}</ref>
[[Thomas de Waal]], a political analyst and author of several books on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, wrote that the environmental activists were "evidently sent there by the [Azerbaijani] government" and are comparable to the "[[Little green men (Russo-Ukrainian War)|little green men]]" used by Russia to [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|occupy Crimea in 2014]], adding that "the eco-activists give Baku 'plausible deniability.'"<ref name="Gavin-2022b">{{Cite web|last=Gavin|first=Gabriel|date=2022-12-13|title=Nagorno-Karabakh: protestors cause crisis in Russia's backyard|url=https://reaction.life/nagorno-karabakh-protestors-cause-crisis-in-russias-backyard/|access-date=2022-12-27|website=Reaction|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="SuppliesDwindle" />
Armin Rosen, a senior writer for [[Tablet (magazine)|Tablet]] magazine, wrote Artsakh "is on pace to be the latest round in over a century of dispossession for [Armenians]," following the loss of Mount Ararat to Turkey (following the Armenian genocide) and the loss of Shushi to Azerbaijan (following the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War).<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rose|first=Armin|date=2023-07-31|title=It's Bad to Be a Sheep|work=Tablet Magazine|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/israel-middle-east/articles/armenia-and-israel-armin-rosen}}</ref> Tigran Grigoryan, a political analyst, argues that "Azerbaijan cannot be allowed to normalise its Lachin checkpoint" given Azerbaijan's "track record of intimidating Karabakh civilians." Grigoryan described a video published by Azerbaijan which showed Artsakh residents using the military checkpoint as a "propagandist...attempt to present an image of normalcy."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Opinion {{!}} Azerbaijan cannot be allowed to normalise its Lachin checkpoint|url=https://oc-media.org/opinions/opinion-azerbaijan-cannot-be-allowed-to-normalise-its-lachin-checkpoint/|access-date=2023-05-09|website=OC Media|language=en-US}}</ref>
According to various political observers, [[Azerbaijan–European Union relations|Azerbaijan's supply of natural gas]] to Europe amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine has undermined the EU's ability to apply pressure.<ref name="EuropeWatches">{{Cite web|last=Gavin|first=Gabriel|date=2023-01-07|title=Europe watches on as humanitarian crisis unfolds in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-stalemate-humanitarian-crisis-nagorno-karabakh/|access-date=2023-01-08|website=Politico|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-07-19|title=EU signs deal to double gas imports from Azerbaijan by 2027|url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy/news/eu-signs-deal-to-double-gas-imports-from-azerbaijan-by-2027/|access-date=2023-03-31|website=www.euractiv.com|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref name="Hill-2022" /> Bashir Kitachayev, an independent Azerbaijani journalist, says that by branding the blockade as a "civil protest", Azerbaijan can "claim there is freedom of speech in Azerbaijan... European officials need not be ashamed to buy fossil fuels from Baku even though they indirectly sponsor the Karabakh conflict and state repression."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kitachayev|first=Bashir|date=30 March 2023|title=Even Azerbaijani opposition back Nagorno-Karabakh blockade|url=https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/nagorno-karabakh-blockade-azerbaijan-100-days/|access-date=2023-03-31|website=openDemocracy|language=en}}</ref>
[[Nathalie Loiseau]], a French MEP and chair of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defense said "the blockade is illegal, cruel and contradictory with Baku's claims that the territory belongs to Azerbaijan. Which country would intentionally prevent its own people from receiving food or medicine?"<ref name="EuropeWatches" /> [[Michael Rubin (historian)|Michael Rubin]], senior fellow at the [[American Enterprise Institute]] (AEI) and ex-Pentagon official wrote "Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev's attempt to starve, if not eradicate, Armenian Christians was predictable...Dictators precipitate famines when they believe they can murder opponents without consequence."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-01-09|title=Biden must stop greenlighting starvation as statecraft|url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/restoring-america/courage-strength-optimism/biden-must-stop-greenlighting-starvation-as-statecraft|access-date=2023-01-09|website=Restoring America|language=en}}</ref>
The blockade has threatened the ongoing peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia.<ref name="Wood-2022">{{Cite web|last=Wood|first=Robert|date=20 December 2022|title=Remarks by Ambassador Robert Wood at a UN Security Council Meeting on Armenia and Azerbaijan|url=https://usun.usmission.gov/remarks-by-ambassador-robert-wood-at-a-un-security-council-meeting-on-armenia-and-azerbaijan/|quote="Let me be clear: impediments to the use of the Lachin Corridor sets back the peace process. They undermine international confidence in this process."}}</ref><ref name="crisisgroup-2023c">{{Cite web|date=2023-01-31|title=The Pressing Task of Advancing Peace Talks in the South Caucasus|url=https://www.crisisgroup.org/europe-central-asia/caucasus/nagorno-karabakh-conflict/pressing-task-advancing-peace-talks-south-caucasus|access-date=2023-03-16|website=www.crisisgroup.org|language=en|quote="Citing the blockade, Armenia's foreign minister pulled out of a meeting with his Azerbaijani counterpart that Russia was to host on 23 December."}}</ref> Lara Setrakian, a journalist and President of the Applied Policy Research Center, wrote that the blockade "sets a dangerous precedent for future conflicts, setting in motion a coercive negotiation tactic that resembles humanitarian blackmail... [and]... erodes faith in Baku as a genuine partner for peace."<ref name="wilsoncenter.org" /> Laurence Broers, a leading scholar on the Azerbaijan-Armenia conflict, wrote that "the starvation of the Armenian population will leave a new legacy of unforgiving distrust, cancelling any hopes of reconstituting community relations."<ref name="Eurasianet-2023c" />
===Involved parties===
[[File:Demonstration demanding the unblocking of the Lachin corridor. 20.12.2022.png|250px|thumb|right|Demonstration in Yerevan demanding the opening of the Lachin corridor on 20 December.]]
* {{Flag|Armenia}} – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia stated that the provocative actions of Azerbaijan may lead to a large-scale humanitarian disaster<ref>{{Cite web|title=Statement of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia on the Azerbaijani provocation in the Lachin Corridor|url=https://www.mfa.am/en/interviews-articles-and-comments/2022/12/13/mfa_statement_lachin/11783|access-date=2023-04-01|website=www.mfa.am|language=en}}</ref> The prime minister of Armenia criticised Russian forces whose mandate is to secure transport in and out of the region as "becoming a silent witness to the depopulation of Nagorno-Karabakh."<ref name="Reuters"/> Margaryan, Permanent Representative of Armenia, told the U.N. Security Council that "the ongoing blockade is not just one isolated case, but another demonstration of systematic violence used by the Azerbaijani authorities to subject the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing."<ref name="Reuters-2022a">{{Cite news|last=|date=2022-12-15|title=Tensions rise between Armenia and Azerbaijan over blocked supply corridor|language=en|work=Reuters|url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russia-concerned-by-blocking-route-armenia-nagorno-karabakh-2022-12-15/|access-date=2023-04-01}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=|first=|title=Sole Road Connecting Nagorno-Karabakh To Armenia Blocked By Protesters From Azerbaijan|language=en|work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|url=https://www.rferl.org/a/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-road-closed-tensions/32174909.html|access-date=2023-04-01}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Armenia calls on UN Security Council to demand Azerbaijan to lift blockade of Lachin Corridor, send UN mission|website=Armenpress news agency|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1100156/|date=21 December 2022|access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref> Certain Armenian officials have suggested that Russia is using the blockade to obtain concessions from Armenia.<ref name="Jamnews-2022a" /><ref name="iranpress-2023" /><ref name="MassisPost-2022b" /> President of Armenia [[Vahagn Khachaturyan]] stated that by closing the Lachin road, Azerbaijan is not fulfilling its obligations and that while 300–400 vehicles used to pass this road daily, transporting vital necessities for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, only 400 vehicles carrying humanitarian goods have since passed in 40 days.<ref>{{cite news|title=Khachaturyan on unblocking of Lachin corridor: Russian side does not want to use force|url=https://news.am/eng/news/739826.html|access-date=16 January 2023|work=news.am}}</ref>
* [[File:Flag of Artsakh.svg|23px]] [[Republic of Artsakh|Artsakh]] – The President of Artsakh, [[Arayik Harutyunyan]] said Artsakh "is the only area in the world which is under complete siege. It can now be considered a concentration camp," adding that "The time has come [for the world] to take unilateral action as a last resort to prevent mass crimes."<ref name="Hauer-2023"/> Vagram Balayan, leader of the [[Armenian Revolutionary Federation|Dashnak]] parliamentary faction of Artsakh, said "the Azeris actually do not want any negotiations, they just want us to disappear from history."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Rozanskij|first=Vladimir|title=Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenians demand the reopening of the Lachin corridor|url=https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Nagorno-Karabakh%3A-Armenians-demand-the-reopening-of-the-Lachin-corridor-57475.html?&page=all&single=1|access-date=2023-01-09|website=www.asianews.it|language=en}}</ref> Ruben Vardanyan, the former state minister for Artsakh said "The message that Azerbaijan is sending with these eco-activists is either you leave or you accept our rule of law, or you will starve and die because nobody cares about you all."<ref name="SuppliesDwindle"/> Artak Beglarian, advisor to the Artsakh government said "Since we are being falsely accused of importing weapons, we have proposed installing devices to scan all entering vehicles. They [Azerbaijan] have not accepted that, either. What they are looking for is ethnic cleansing."<ref name="El Pais-2023"/> Artur Tovmasyan, the speaker of Artsakh's Parliament, said: "Democratic values are on one side of the scale, oil and gas are on the other. If, in fact, democratic values were more important to the big players, the road would have been unblocked long ago."<ref name="Der Matossian-2023">{{Cite journal|last=Der Matossian|first=Bedross|date=2023-08-01|title=Impunity, Lack of Humanitarian Intervention, and International Apathy: The Blockade of the Lachin Corridor in Historical Perspective|url=https://utpjournals.press/doi/10.3138/GSI-2023-0008|journal=Genocide Studies International|language=en|volume=15|issue=1|pages=7–20|doi=10.3138/GSI-2023-0008|s2cid=261011186|issn=2291-1847}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Azerbaijan}} – The government continues to deny the existence of the blockade claiming that "civilian transport can move freely in both directions" and voiced its "readiness to meet humanitarian needs of ethnic Armenians living on Karabakh".<ref>{{Cite web|date=15 December 2022|title=Armenia says Azerbaijan behind Nagorno-Karabakh roadblock 'crisis'|url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20221215-armenia-says-azerbaijan-behind-nagorno-karabakh-roadblock-crisis|access-date=19 December 2022|website=France 24|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=15 December 2022|title=Baku denies Lachin road blocked, voices readiness to meet humanitarian needs of ethnic Armenians|publisher=Azernews|url=https://www.azernews.az/nation/203626.html|access-date=15 December 2022}}</ref> The spokesperson for the ministry, Ayxan Hajizade, called claims of a blockade "fake news".<ref>{{cite tweet|last=Hajizada|first=Aykhan|user=Aykhanh|number=1604800335423614976|date=19 December 2022|title=Contrary to the misinformation on the "blockade", the @ICRC vehicles and #Armenian ambulances are passing freely through the #Lachin road. This is on top of multiple cases of passing through the road several times each day. Claims about the blockade are fake news! https://t.co/BgvYIcTudg|language=en|access-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113163755/http://twitter.com/Aykhanh/status/1604800335423614976|archive-date=13 January 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> Azerbaijan's president [[Ilham Aliyev]] praised the individuals blockading Nagorno-Karabakh, saying that "they show the whole world how high-quality the Azerbaijani youth are"<ref>{{Cite web|title=Azerbaijan's president makes first remarks on Karabakh blockade|url=https://eurasianet.org/azerbaijans-president-makes-first-remarks-on-karabakh-blockade|access-date=2023-01-13|website=eurasianet.org|language=en}}</ref> and stated "it is simply unfair to call the events happening on the Lachin – Khankendi road a blockade."<ref name="Azerbaijan Republic-2023">{{cite web|date=10 January 2023|title=Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by local TV channels|url=https://president.az/en/articles/view/58555|access-date=12 January 2023|website=Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic|publisher=president.az|language=en}}</ref> Aliyev said that "Armenians living in Karabakh must either accept Azerbaijani citizenship or look for another place to live"<ref name="Trend.Az-2023" /><ref name="BBC News-2023a" /><ref name="ahmedbeyli-2023a">{{Cite web|last=ahmedbeyli|first=samira|date=2023-04-19|title=Ilham Aliyev: "Either they will live under the flag of Azerbaijan, or they will leave"|url=https://jam-news.net/aliyevs-interview-with-state-television/|access-date=2023-04-20|website=English Jamnews|language=en-US}}</ref> adding that "I am sure that the majority of the Armenian population living in Karabakh today is ready to accept Azerbaijani citizenship. It's just that these leeches, these wild animals, the separatists [referring to the de facto Republic of Artsakh representatives] don't allow it."<ref name="ahmedbeyli-2023a" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Ilham Aliyev was interviewed by Azerbaijan Television in city of Salyan » Official web-site of President of Azerbaijan Republic|url=https://president.az/en/articles/view/59451|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230512204427/https://president.az/en/articles/view/59451|archive-date=2023-05-12|access-date=2023-05-12|website=president.az|language=en|quote=I am sure most of the Armenian population currently living in Karabakh is ready to accept Azerbaijani citizenship. Simply put, these leeches, these predatory animals, won't let them do that. They won't let these people live comfortably, having kept them as hostages for 30 years.}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Russia}} – The Russian [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Russia)|Foreign Affairs]] spokeswoman [[Maria Zakharova]] stated on the third day of the blockade that "Russia's defense ministry and the Russian peacekeeping contingent have been actively working to de-escalate the situation and we expect full transport links to be restored in the very near future."<ref name="Reuters-2022a" /> On 12 January 2023, Zakharova stated: "We continue to work on complete unblocking of the Lachin corridor in accordance with the tripartite statement of the leaders of Russia, Armenia and Azerbaijan of November 9, 2020." On 18 January 2023, Russia's foreign minister [[Sergey Lavrov|Sergei Lavrov]] stated that Russian defense officials are investigating Azerbaijan's allegations that Armenia was transporting [[land mine]]s through the Lachin corridor. He also proposed that Russian peacekeepers could examine cargo transported via this road, adding that he believed the issue would be settled shortly.<ref>{{cite news|title=Talks with Zelensky, previous relations with West impossible, Lavrov tells media|url=https://tass.com/politics/1564215|access-date=19 January 2023|work=TASS|date=18 January 2023}}</ref> On 16 March 2023, Zakharova dismissed "Yerevan's attempts to shift responsibility for Karabakh" on the Russian peacekeeping forces."<ref name="caucasuswatch-2023b" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Yerevan's attempts to shift responsibility for Karabakh are on its conscience — diplomat|url=https://tass.com/world/1589911|access-date=2023-06-12|website=TASS}}</ref>
===International===
* {{Flag|Australia}} – Ambassador Meehan deeply concerned about the humanitarian situation, called for the Lachin corridor to be reopened <ref>{{cite tweet|author=Graeme Meehan|user=PosolAustralia |title=Australia is deeply concerned about the unfolding humanitarian situation... |number=1699023048454832133|date=5 September 2023|language=en|access-date=6 September 2023}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Brazil}} – Ambassador Filho called for open channels of dialogue and said "any obstruction jeopardizes the well-being of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and threatens the reconciliation process between Armenia and Azerbaijan."<ref name="GlimmerOfHope">{{Cite web|title=Despite 'Glimmer of Hope' in Armenia, Azerbaijan Conflict, Escalating Tensions Threaten to Derail Fragile Progress, Senior Official Tells Security Council|url=https://press.un.org/en/2022/sc15154.doc.htm|access-date=2022-12-22|website=press.un.org}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Canada}} – The Foreign Ministry called on Azerbaijan to open the Lachin corridor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://radar.am/en/news/world-2542029756/|title=The Canadian Foreign Ministry calls on Azerbaijan to open the Lachin Corridor|website=Radar.am}}</ref> The House of Commons also unanimously adopted a motion calling on Azerbaijan to open the Lachin corridor, guarantee the freedom of movement and avoid further deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Azerbaijan's installation of a checkpoint was also condemned as undermining the peace process.<ref name="Korah"/>
* {{Flag|Cyprus}} – The Foreign Ministry called on Azerbaijan to lift the blockade and restore gas supply.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://en.armradio.am/2022/12/14/cyprus-calls-on-azerbaijan-to-lift-blockade-of-lachin-corridor-and-restore-gas-supply/|title=Cyprus calls on Azerbaijan to lift blockade of Lachin corridor and restore gas supply|first=Siranush|last=Ghazanchyan|newspaper=Public Radio of Armenia|date=14 December 2022}}</ref> [[Christiana Erotokritou]], an alternate member to [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|PACE]], said at session discussing the blockade, "The aim of this is, clearly, to force all Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh to abandon and flee their ancestral homes in order to achieve ethnic cleansing."<ref>{{Cite web|last=EROTOKRITOU|first=Christiana|date=2023-06-22|title=Debate: Ensuring free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor|url=https://pace.coe.int/pdf/edc3c5395247880831f5a71979ff643a2dd78f89854a3d88d9e2d25ab1155b41/verbatim.pdf|website=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Estonia}} – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern about the blockade which poses "severe human suffering of the local population in Nagorno-Karabakh".<ref>{{cite tweet|author=Estonian MFA 🇪🇪 {{!}} 🌻 #StandWithUkraine|user=MFAestonia|number=1604102860765110272|date=17 December 2022|title=Continuing blockade of #LachinCorridor causes severe human suffering of the local population in #NagornoKarabakh & has damaging impact on the ongoing peace process btw 🇦🇲&🇦🇿. 🇪🇪 calls on parties to adhere to trilateral statement of Nov 2020 & to return to peaceful negotiations.|language=en|access-date=29 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221221040602/https://twitter.com/mfaestonia/status/1604102860765110272|archive-date=21 December 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{Flag|France}} – The Foreign Ministry called for the unblocking of the Lachin corridor without any conditions and to respect the rights of the Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Green|first=Anna|date=14 December 2022|title=The Lachin Corridor: A Looming Humanitarian Catastrophe|url=https://evnreport.com/politics/the-lachin-corridor-a-looming-humanitarian-catastrophe/}}</ref> Speaker of parliament [[Yaël Braun-Pivet]] during her visit to Yerevan stated that her country is concerned about the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh and the deepening humanitarian crisis, and that in order to achieve a peaceful and lasting solution, it is necessary to restore dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan. She also said that France will not impose sanctions on Azerbaijan.<ref>{{cite news|title="We have chosen the path of active mediation" – French National Assembly Speaker in Yerevan|url=https://jam-news.net/speaker-of-the-french-parliament-in-yerevan/|access-date=14 January 2023|work=English Jamnews|date=13 January 2023}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Germany}} – Commissioner for Human Rights and Humanitarian Assistance called for the restoration of free movement of people, vehicles and goods on the Lachin corridor as soon as possible, noting the risk of grave humanitarian effects for civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh.<ref>{{cite tweet|author=Menschenrechtsbeauftragte Luise Amtsberg|user=DEonHumanRights|number=1603830831486681088|date=16 December 2022|title=Free movement of people, vehicles and goods must be restored on the #LachinCorridor asap: otherwise rising risk of grave humanitarian effects for civilians in Nagorno-Karabakh. Dialogue and peace negotiations between #Azerbaijan and #Armenia should be the urgent focus!|language=en|access-date=29 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222173020/https://twitter.com/DEonHumanRights/status/1603830831486681088|archive-date=22 December 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> On 7 February 2023, Foreign Minister [[Annalena Baerbock]] called for immediate reopening of Lachin corridor, emphasizing the humanitarian&nbsp;consequences of the blockade.<ref>{{Cite web|date=7 February 2023|title=Germany urges 'immediate' end to Nagorno-Karabakh blockade|url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2023/02/07/Germany-urges-immediate-end-to-Nagorno-Karabakh-blockade|access-date=9 February 2023|website=[[Al Arabiya]]}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Greece}} – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on the Azerbaijani authorities to ensure freedom and security of movement and transport without any preconditions, and that the local population should be spared from hardships and distress.<ref>{{cite tweet|author=Υπουργείο Εξωτερικών|user=GreeceMFA|number=1603315921380163585|date=15 December 2022|title=Greece calls on Azerbaijani authorities to ensure freedom & security of movement & transport, in both directions along the Lachin corridor without any preconditions in compliance with the Tripartite Statement of 09.11.20 Local population should be spared from hardships&distress https://t.co/vYLzOGkqDb|language=en|access-date=20 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221217153442/https://twitter.com/GreeceMFA/status/1603315921380163585|archive-date=17 December 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Iceland}} –  Birgir Thrarinsso, Spokesperson for the [[European People's Party Group|European People's Party]] in PACE described the situation as "totally unacceptable," adding that "I hope that Azerbaijan will change its course and start showing that they have nothing to hide, start showing real humanity to their neighbours, start showing that they care for the needs of innocent people."<ref>{{Cite web|last=THÓRARINSSON|first=Birgir|date=22 June 2023|title=Debate: Ensuring free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor|url=https://pace.coe.int/pdf/edc3c5395247880831f5a71979ff643aa035acee46388338f318a7be29e4d0aa/verbatim.pdf|website=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Ireland}} – called on Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally restore freedom and security in the Lachin corridor.<ref name="GlimmerOfHope" />
* {{Flag|Lebanon}} – The Foreign Ministry said it deeply regrets the closure of the Lachin corridor and impact on the livelihood and humanitarian conditions in the area.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Foreign Ministry deplores closure of Lachin corridor, urges dialogue between Armenia and Azerbaijan|url=https://www.nna-leb.gov.lb/en/%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A9/590105/foreign-ministry-deplores-closure-of-lachin-corrid|access-date=2023-01-26|website=National News Agency|language=en-US}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Lithuania}} – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed concern about the continuing blockade and its resulting severe humanitarian consequences for Nagorno-Karabakh.<ref>{{cite tweet|author=Lithuania MFA {{!}} #StandWithUkraine|user=LithuaniaMFA|number=1603745059626573826|date=16 December 2022|title=Deeply concerned about the continuing blockade of #LachinCorridor, resulting in severe humanitarian consequences for #NagornoKarabakh. Such developments not only hinder the free movement, but also derail the whole peace process in South Caucasus.|language=en|access-date=20 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219013207/https://twitter.com/LithuaniaMFA/status/1603745059626573826|archive-date=19 December 2022|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Luxembourg}} – The Foreign Minister [[Jean Asselborn]] called on Azerbaijan to ensure free and safe movement along the Lachin corridor<ref>{{Cite web|date=2023-02-22|title=Statement on Lachin Corridor|url=https://twitter.com/MFA_Lu/status/1628433302242709505|access-date=2023-02-23|website=Twitter|language=en}}</ref> stating that Nagorno-Karabakh is "the homeland of Armenians and nobody has the right to block this Lachin corridor and I hope that those who have the means to interfere that they will do it as effective as possible".<ref>{{Cite web|title="It's the homeland of Armenians and nobody has the right to block Lachin Corridor" – Luxembourg Foreign Minister|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1104763.html#.Y_YbUl8FeaQ.twitter|access-date=2023-02-23|website=armenpress.am|date=22 February 2023 |language=en}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Netherlands}} – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs called for the unblocking of the Lachin corridor, and for Armenia and Azerbaijan to restart peace negotiations.<ref>{{cite tweet|author=Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs 🇳🇱|user=DutchMFA|number=1603393867105050627|date=15 December 2022|title=The Netherlands is closely following the situation in the #Lachin corridor. We call on Azerbaijan to ensure freedom and security of movement, and encourage Armenia and Azerbaijan to restart peace negotiations as soon as possible. https://t.co/jUIphIjscf|language=en|access-date=20 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221219014213/https://twitter.com/dutchmfa/status/1603393867105050627|archive-date=19 December 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> The Netherlands parliament adopted a resolution calling on the government to urge the European Council to pressure Azerbaijan to cease hostilities against the people of Artsakh and to open the Lachin Corridor. It also stated that: "Russian peacekeepers do not intervene in that area, and that this situation threatens to create a humanitarian emergency for the population of Nagorno-Karabakh."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Dutch Parliament adopts motion calling for opening of Lachin Corridor|url=https://en.armradio.am/2022/12/14/dutch-parliament-adopts-motion-calling-for-opening-of-lachin-corridor/|access-date=2023-01-22|website=Public Radio of Armenia|language=en-US}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Norway}} – The Minister of Foreign affairs Mona Juul called on Azerbaijan to guarantee safe movement across the Lachin corridor: "It is in nobody's interest to trigger an avoidable humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh...The international community cannot just "weather the storm" in the hopes that [the situation] will go away"<ref name="GlimmerOfHope" />
* {{Flag|Poland}} – Its senate unanimously adopted a resolution, calling on Azerbaijan to lift the blockade and restore free movement on Lachin corridor without delay or preconditions.<ref>{{Cite web|first=Bogdan|last=Klich|date=25 January 2023|title=Uchwała Komisji Spraw Zagranicznych i Unii Europejskiej Senatu RP w sprawie blokady Korytarza Laczyńskiego|url=https://senat.gov.pl/download/gfx/senat/pl/senatkomisjeposiedzenia/10020/pos/uchwala__kszue_z_dn._25.01.23_armenia.pdf|access-date=26 January 2023}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Spain}} – Its [[Congress of Deputies|congress]] unanimously adopted a statement which "Calls on the Azerbaijani authorities to ensure the freedom and safety of movement along the corridor in accordance with the trilateral declaration of November 9, 2020. Restrictions on free movement cause great suffering to the population and can create a humanitarian crisis."<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Spanish Parliament calls on Azerbaijan to ensure the freedom and safety of movement through the Lachin Corridor|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1100357/|access-date=2022-12-22|website=armenpress.am|date=22 December 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=BOCG. Congreso de los Diputados, serie D, núm. 195, de 16/12/2020 – Congreso de los Diputados|url=https://www.congreso.es/web/guest/busqueda-de-publicaciones?p_p_id=publicaciones&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&_publicaciones_mode=mostrarTextoIntegro&_publicaciones_legislatura=XIV&_publicaciones_id_texto=(BOCG-14-D-195.CODI.)|access-date=2022-12-22|website=www.congreso.es}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Switzerland}} – Switzerland's representative to the UNSC stated "We call on the parties concerned to guarantee the rapid, safe and unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need. We deplore the fact that humanitarian actors such as the ICRC are not always able to carry out their operations, as is currently the case across the Lachin corridor in the South Caucasus."<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 August 2023|title=Open Debate on Conflicts and Food Security|url=https://www.aplusforpeace.ch/open-debate-conflicts-and-food-security|access-date=10 August 2023}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Turkey}} – The Ambassador to Azerbaijan Cahit Bağcı, personally visited the blockade, writing on Twitter, "Karabakh is Azerbaijan."<ref name="caucasuswatch-2022">{{Cite web|title=Recent Developments Regarding Protest Along Lachin Corridor|url=https://caucasuswatch.de/news/6811.html|access-date=2022-12-28|website=caucasuswatch.de|date=26 December 2022|language=de}}</ref>
* {{Flag|United Kingdom}}  – the Minister of State for European Affairs [[Leo Docherty]] has expressed concern that the blocking of the Lachin corridor and disrupting gas supplies in winter risks severe humanitarian consequences.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Blocking the Lachin corridor and disrupting gas supplies in winter risks severe humanitarian consequences, Leo Docherty|url=https://www.1lurer.am/en/2022/12/14/Blocking-the-Lachin-corridor-and-disrupting-gas-supplies-in-winter-risks-severe-humanitarian-conseq/849724|access-date=2023-01-04|website=www.1lurer.am|date=14 December 2022|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet|last=Docherty|first=Leo|author-link=Leo Docherty|user=LeoDochertyUK|number=1603087574960320512|date=14 December 2022|title=Blocking the Lachin corridor and disrupting gas supplies in winter risks severe humanitarian consequences. The UK counts on both #Azerbaijan and #Armenia to abide by all ceasefire commitments. A lasting settlement can only be reached through peaceful, diplomatic means.|language=en|access-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104180555/https://twitter.com/LeoDochertyUK/status/1603087574960320512|archive-date=4 January 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>
* {{Flag|United States}} – [[United States Department of State|Department of State]] [[Spokesperson for the United States Department of State|spokesman]] [[Ned Price]] said that the closure of the corridor has serious humanitarian consequences and called on Azerbaijan to restore free movement through the [[Lachin corridor]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=ԱՄՆ-ն Ադրբեջանին կոչ է արել վերաբացել Լաչինի միջանցքը|url=https://mediamax.am/am/news/karabakh/49690/|access-date=13 December 2022|website=mediamax.am|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=15 December 2022|title=Azerbaijan Rejects Accusations Of Karabakh Blockade|url=https://www.barrons.com/news/azerbaijan-rejects-accusations-of-karabakh-blockade-01671104711|website=barrons.com|publisher=[[Agence France-Presse]]|language=en-US}}</ref> Department Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel said on 16 December that closure of the Lachin corridor has potentially severe humanitarian implications, calling for the restoration of free movement through the corridor as soon as possible.<ref>{{Cite web|date=16 December 2022|title=Department Press Briefing|url=https://www.state.gov/briefings/department-press-briefing-december-16-2022/#post-405807-ARMENIA|website=U.S. Department of State}}</ref> Ambassador [[Robert A. Wood]], Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs, called on "the government of Azerbaijan and others responsible for the corridor's security to restore free movement, including for humanitarian and commercial use, as soon as possible" during the UN Security Council meeting on 20 December 2022.<ref name="Wood-2022" /> On 22 December 2022, US National Security Advisor [[Jake Sullivan]] expressed ongoing concern of the United States over impeded access to the Lachin corridor and the growing humanitarian implications of this situation, calling to fully restore the free movement through the corridor.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/12/22/readout-of-apnsa-jake-sullivans-calls-with-national-security-council-secretary-armen-grigoryan-of-armenia-and-head-of-the-foreign-relations-department-of-the-presidential-administration/|title=Readout of APNSA Jake Sullivan's Calls with National Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan of Armenia and Head of the Foreign Relations Department of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan Hikmat Hajiyev|date=22 December 2022|website=[[whitehouse.gov]]|access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref> Five USA congress members issued a separate statement: "It is disturbing that the only time the people of Azerbaijan are allowed to freely protest is when it threatens the lives of Armenians...We urge the United States and our European partners to use every diplomatic tool at their disposal to halt this clearly fabricated crisis created by Azerbaijan."<ref>{{Cite web|date=2022-12-13|title=Armenia Caucus Co-Chairs Issue Statement on Escalation of Azerbaijani Humanitarian Abuses in Artsakh|url=https://pallone.house.gov/media/press-releases/armenia-caucus-co-chairs-issue-statement-escalation-azerbaijani-humanitarian|access-date=2023-01-07|website=Congressman Frank Pallone|language=en}}</ref>
** {{Flag|Los Angeles}} – On 4 January, the mayor sent a letter to President Biden urging the United States "come to the aid of the people of Artsakh".<ref>{{cite tweet|last=Krekorian|first=Paul|author-link=Paul Krekorian|user=PaulKrekorian|number=1610532929687683072|date=4 January 2023|title=Thank you Mayor Bass for joining me in communicating to President Biden the urgent need for U.S. leadership to lift the blockade and bring humanitarian relief to the people of Artsakh. https://t.co/bBT2kSnO4c|language=en|access-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230108023534/https://twitter.com/paulkrekorian/status/1610532929687683072|archive-date=8 January 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> The mayor issued this statement after a cordon of Armenian truckers paralysed the traffic around her residence to bring attention to the brewing humanitarian crisis.<ref>{{cite web|last=McGahan|first=Jason|date=7 January 2023|title=An Armenian Trucker Convoy Halts the Mayoral Honeymoon|url=https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/armenian-trucker-convoy-brings-a-halt-to-mayoral-honeymoon/}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Uruguay}} – Its senate called for the end of the blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan putting an end to the harassment of the civilian population, and expressed solidarity with the people of Artsakh.<ref>{{cite tweet|author=Embajada de Armenia en Argentina|user=armembargentina|number=1605275740051836928|date=20 December 2022|title=Hoy @SenadoUy adoptó una moción sobre la situación del Corredor de #Lachín, condenando el bloqueo de parte de #Azerbaiyán. https://t.co/iYeaJE2hk9|trans-title=Today @SenadoUy adopted a motion on the situation of the #Lachin Corridor, condemning the blockade by #Azerbaijan.|language=es|access-date=29 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221222093915/https://twitter.com/armembargentina/status/1605275740051836928|archive-date=22 December 2022|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ghazanchyan|first=Siranush|date=21 December 2022|title=Uruguay's Senate condemns blocking of Lachin Corridor, expresses solidarity with the people of Artsakh|url=https://en.armradio.am/2022/12/21/uruguay-senate-condemns-blocking-of-lachin-corridor-expresses-solidarity-with-the-people-of-artsakh/|access-date=21 December 2022|website=en.armradio.am|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=20 Dec 2022|title=Sesión de Senado Extraordinaria|url=https://parlamento.gub.uy/noticiasyeventos/noticias/node/100054|url-status=dead|access-date=20 December 2022|website=Parlamento del Uruguay|language=es|archive-date=20 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220153742/https://parlamento.gub.uy/noticiasyeventos/noticias/node/100054}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Vatican City}} – [[Pope Francis]] expressed concern about "precarious humanitarian conditions of the people, which are in further danger of deteriorating during the winter season", speaking of the "situation created in the Lachin corridor in the South Caucasus."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Watkins|first=Devin|date=18 December 2022|title=Pope expresses concern over humanitarian situation in South Caucasus – Vatican News|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2022-12/pope-francis-armenia-azerbaijan-lachin-corridor.html|access-date=19 December 2022|website=www.vaticannews.va|language=en}}</ref> On 29 January 2023, he reiterated his plea to find a peaceful solution to "grave humanitarian situation in the Lachin Corridor.", calling the conditions that the blockade created for the local population "inhumane".<ref>{{cite web|author=Watkins|first=Devin|date=29 January 2023|title=Pope prays for peace in Ukraine, recalls Lachin Corridor crisis|url=https://www.vaticannews.va/en/pope/news/2023-01/pope-francis-ukraine-peace-lachin-corridor-azerbaijan-armenia.html|access-date=30 January 2023|website=[[Vatican News]]}}</ref>
===Supranational===
* '''{{Flag|European Union}}''' – "The EU calls on Azerbaijan to ensure freedom of movement, and that restrictions to such freedom of movement cause significant distress to the local population and creates humanitarian concerns."<ref>{{Cite web|title=EU calls on Azerbaijan to ensure freedom of movement|url=https://mediamax.am/en/news/karabakh/49694/|website=mediamax.am}}</ref><ref name="bloom">{{Cite news|last1=Agayev|first1=Zulfugar|last2=Khojoyan|first2=Sara|date=14 December 2022|title=US, EU Warn on Azerbaijan-Armenia Tensions as Key Road Blocked|language=en|work=Bloomberg.com|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-12-14/us-eu-warn-on-azerbaijan-armenia-tensions-as-key-road-blocked}}</ref><ref name="Shahverdyan-2022b" /> [[Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe|PACE]] co-rapporteurs for the monitoring of Azerbaijan and Armenia also released a joint statement urging for urgent restoration of freedom of movement along the Lachin corridor.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|date=16 December 2022|title=PACE monitors urge the restoration of freedom of movement along the Lachin corridor|url=https://pace.coe.int/en/news/8930/pace-monitors-urge-the-restoration-of-freedom-of-movement-along-the-lachin-corridor|access-date=22 December 2022|website=Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe}}</ref> [[Nathalie Loiseau]], Chair of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Security and Defence, said that the EU should use its economic ties to put pressure on Azerbaijan to end the blockade, saying "we mustn't shy away from defending universal values. If we don't do it, who will act?"<ref name="EuropeWatches"/> [[Josep Borrell]], High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, stated that the EU is not considering imposing sanctions on Azerbaijan, and its efforts are focused on achieving solutions through dialogue.<ref>{{cite news|title=EU 'Not Considering' Sanctions Against Baku Over Karabakh Blockade|url=https://www.azatutyun.am/a/32250784.html|access-date=2 February 2023|work=«Ազատ Եվրոպա/Ազատություն» ռադիոկայան|date=1 February 2023}}</ref> The EU also stated that Azerbaijan's suggestion that goods good be supplied through territory controlled by Azerbaijan "should not be seen as an alternative to the reopening of the Lachin corridor."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Azerbaijan: Statement by High Representative Josep Borrell on the humanitarian situation on the ground {{!}} EEAS|url=https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eeas/azerbaijan-statement-high-representative-josep-borrell-humanitarian-situation-ground_en|access-date=2023-07-27|website=www.eeas.europa.eu}}</ref>
** The [[Renew Europe|Renew Europe Group]] of the EU Parliament called on Azerbaijan to unconditionally end the blockade. Nathalie Loiseau, the MEP that initiated the resolution, said "it is more than a blockade that he [President Aliyev] is imposing, more than blackmail, it is ethnic cleansing that he wants."<ref>{{Cite web|last=Goleanu|first=Lucian|date=18 January 2023|title=Nagorno-Karabakh: Renew Europe deplores EU's lack of...|url=https://www.reneweuropegroup.eu/news/2023-01-18/nagorno-karabakh-renew-europe-deplores-eus-lack-of-action-to-restore-access-along-the-lachim-corridor|access-date=2023-01-19|website=Renew Europe|language=en}}</ref>
* '''{{Flag|Council of Europe}}''' – the organization has called for movement along the Lachin corridor to be restored multiple times.<ref>{{cite web|date=22 December 2022|title=Movement along the Lachin Corridor should be restored as a matter of urgency to prevent a deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/commissioner/-/movement-along-the-lachin-corridor-should-be-restored-as-a-matter-of-urgency-to-prevent-a-deterioration-of-the-humanitarian-situation-in-nagorno-karabakh|access-date=22 December 2022|website=Council of Europe}}</ref><ref name="PACE-2023a" /> The Assembly also issued a report where it said that it "is extremely worried by the hostile and threatening rhetoric used against Armenians at the highest level of Azerbaijan's leadership and urges Azerbaijan to repudiate such rhetoric and take steps to tackle both hate speech, including by public and high-level officials, and hate crime," adding that "it urges Azerbaijan to restore electricity and gas supplies without delay or impediment."<ref name="PACE-2023a" /> In the report PACE concluded "Peace is not only the absence of war. Peace is feeling free and safe in a society which gives you the opportunities to strive for happiness, development and fulfilment. So far, Azerbaijan has not demonstrated its readiness to guarantee such freedom and safety for the Armenians living on its territory and under its jurisdiction."<ref name="PACE-2023a" />
* '''{{Flag|United Nations}}''' – The blockade was discussed by the UN Security Council. All members of the Security Council who spoke called on Baku to ensure free and safe movement along the Lachin corridor; however, no resolution was adopted following the meeting.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://jam-news.net/un-security-council-on-lachin-corridor/|title=Details from meeting of UN Security Council on Lachin corridor|date=21 December 2022|website=JAM-news.net|access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref> Experts from the UN Human Rights Council described the ongoing blockade as a "humanitarian emergency" and urged Azerbaijan to lift the blockade, and called on the Russian peacekeepers to protect the corridor under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.<ref name="OHCHR-2023">{{Cite web|title=UN experts urge Azerbaijan to lift Lachin corridor blockade and end humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/08/un-experts-urge-azerbaijan-lift-lachin-corridor-blockade-and-end|access-date=2023-08-08|website=OHCHR|language=en}}</ref>
* '''{{Flag|UNICEF}}''' – stated that: "Children are being impacted by the virtual closure of access to Nagorno-Karabakh via the Lachin corridor. The longer the situation persists, the more children will experience the lack of basic food items, while access to many of the essential services they need for their survival, healthy growth and well-being will become more challenging. Many children have also been deprived of parental care as they have been separated from their parents or legal guardians."<ref name="unicef.org">{{Cite web|title=Statement on the ongoing developments around the Lachin corridor|url=https://www.unicef.org/armenia/en/press-releases/statement-ongoing-developments-around-lachin-corridor|access-date=2022-12-28|website=www.unicef.org|language=en|date=2022-12-30|quote=Many children have also been deprived of parental care as they have been separated from their parents or legal guardians.}}</ref>
* '''{{Flag|Collective Security Treaty Organization}}''' – Secretary General [[Stanislav Zas]] stated that the problem at the Lachin corridor is outside of its responsibility.<ref>{{Cite web|title=CSTO Not Responsible for Lachin Corridor, Says Alliance Head|url=https://hetq.am/en/article/151427|access-date=2023-01-05|website=Hetq.am|date=20 December 2022|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=20 December 2022|title=ОДКБ не считает своей ответственностью проблему Лачинского коридора|url=https://ria.ru/20221220/odkb-1839922351.html|access-date=5 January 2023|website=РИА Новости|language=ru}}</ref>
* [[Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe|The U.S. Helsinki Commission]] issued a statement: "The blocking of trade and transit on the Lanchin corridor is contributing to a humanitarian catastrophe in Karabakh, and should be lifted immediately. Azerbaijan has a moral responsibility for ensuring the welfare of Karabakh Armenians."<ref>{{cite tweet|author=Helsinki Commission|user=HelsinkiComm|number=1612832666939695105|date=10 January 2023|title=This disturbing situation is further evidence that #Russia is neither a reliable security provider nor a legitimate broker for peace in the South #Caucasus, or elsewhere. Once again, Moscow instrumentalizes Armenian and Azerbaijani suffering for its own cynical, venal pursuits.|language=en|access-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113081604/https://twitter.com/helsinkicomm/status/1612832666939695105|archive-date=13 January 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>
===Non-governmental organizations===
* [[Christian Solidarity International]] – President John Eibner condemned the blockade, stating: "The process of the Armenian Genocide has been ongoing since the Ottoman massacres of the late nineteenth century. Now, by placing Nagorno-Karabakh under blockade, the dictatorship of Azerbaijan is clearly telegraphing its intent to carry out another phase of the Genocide".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://anglican.ink/2022/12/19/genocide-warning-for-nagorno-karabakh-issued-by-human-rights-organizations/|title=Genocide Warning for Nagorno Karabakh issued by human rights organizations|last=Veldkamp|first=Joel|date=19 December 2022|website=Anglican Ink|access-date=20 December 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220013543/https://anglican.ink/2022/12/19/genocide-warning-for-nagorno-karabakh-issued-by-human-rights-organizations/|archive-date=20 December 2022}}</ref> CSI also released a statement: "CSI stands in solidarity with the Armenian Christians of Nagorno-Karabakh. We support their right to govern themselves in their homeland, and we call on the [[United States]], the [[United Kingdom]], and the [[European Union]], and the [[Russia]]n Federation to compel Azerbaijan to end the siege of Nagorno Karabakh."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/alert-azerbaijan-blocks-the-only-road-into-nagorno-karabakh|title=Azerbaijan blocks only road into Nagorno Karabakh|date=14 December 2022|website=Genocide Watch|access-date=20 December 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221220015045/https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/alert-azerbaijan-blocks-the-only-road-into-nagorno-karabakh|archive-date=20 December 2022}}</ref>
* [[Aurora Humanitarian Initiative]] – Members of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative condemned Azerbaijan's government for the blockade and drew parallels between the humanitarian crisis it created and the 1948 [[Berlin blockade]] by [[Soviet Union]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://auroraprize.com/en/global-humanitarian-leaders-call-for-urgent-action-to-stop-the-humanitarian-catastrophe-in-nagorno-karabakh|title=Global Humanitarian Leaders Call for Urgent Action to Stop the Humanitarian Catastrophe in Nagorno-Karabakh|website=[[Aurora Humanitarian Initiative]]|access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref>
* [[World Medical Association]] – Dr. [[Frank Ulrich Montgomery]], Chair of the WMA Council, urged the Azerbaijan Government to ensure safe access through the Lachin corridor, a critical route for the delivery of vital food and medical supplies, to avoid this humanitarian crisis getting worse.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.wma.net/news-post/wma-urges-immediate-action-to-end-humanitarian-crisis/|title=WMA Urges Immediate Action to End Humanitarian Crisis|date=21 December 2022|website=World Medical Association|access-date=22 December 2022}}</ref>
* [[Freedom House]] – wrote "we call on the international community to reiterate its support for negotiations without coercion. Azerbaijan must cease its blockage of the Lachin corridor."<ref>{{cite tweet|author=Freedom House|author-link=Freedom House|user=freedomhouse|number=1603146203293777921|date=14 December 2022|title=We call on the int'l community to reiterate its support for negotiations without coercion. Azerbaijan must cease its blockage of the Lachin corridor— the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to the outside world. (1/3) https://t.co/39f9basCYd|language=en|access-date=29 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221227074550/http://twitter.com/freedomhouse/status/1603146203293777921|archive-date=27 December 2022|url-status=live}}</ref> The organization also said "there are abundant indications that an expansion of Baku's control over Nagorno-Karabakh and parts of Armenia would eliminate the freedoms and security of local people in much the same way [as Moscow's seizure of Ukrainian territory]."<ref name="Smeltzer-2023">{{Cite web|last=Smeltzer|first=Mike|date=2023-05-25|title=War Deepens a Regional Divide|url=https://freedomhouse.org/report/nations-transit/2023/war-deepens-regional-divide|access-date=2023-05-25|website=Freedom House|language=en|quote=Moscow's seizure of Ukrainian territory in 2014 and 2022 resulted in a dramatic loss of rights and physical safety for residents, and there are abundant indications that an expansion of Baku's control over Nagorno-Karabakh and parts of Armenia would eliminate the freedoms and security of local people in much the same way. Democratic governments must not ignore the danger. They should take every possible step to bolster Armenia's democracy and ensure the protection of all those living under or fleeing Azerbaijani rule or occupation.}}</ref>
* [[Human Rights Watch]] – stated "whether the protesters  have genuine environmental concerns or other grievances, Azerbaijan should...ensure the road remains open and [that] the protest does not deny Nagorno-Karabakh residents their rights of access to essential services and goods, and to freedom of movement."<ref name="HRW-2022" /> In a subsequent report on hardships caused by the blockade of the "lifeline rode" it reiterated the importance of ensuring residents their rights "including the right of access to health, essential services and goods, and to freedom of movement".<ref name="Gogia-2023">{{Cite web|last=Gogia|first=Giorgi|date=2023-02-21|title=Hardship in Nagorno-Karabakh as Lifeline Road Remains Blocked|url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/21/hardship-nagorno-karabakh-lifeline-road-remains-blocked|access-date=2023-03-20|website=Human Rights Watch|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Amnesty International]] – stated "Azerbaijan must end the blockade of the Lachin corridor, which has left residents of Nagorno Karabakh without access to essential goods and services" after 1 month of the blockade.<ref>{{cite tweet|author=amnestypress|user=amnestypress|number=1613202615076020224|date=11 January 2023|title=#Azerbaijan must end the blockade of the #Lachin corridor, which has left residents of Nagorno Karabakh without access to essential goods and services. Freedom of movement and protection of economic and social rights for those affected must be ensured|language=en|access-date=14 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230113163753/https://twitter.com/amnestypress/status/1613202615076020224|archive-date=13 January 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> It issued another urgent call to immediately lift the blockade on the 60th day of the blockade, reporting that it's "putting thousands of lives in peril", causing serious hardship for access to healthcare, exacerbating human rights costs by causing food and fuel shortages and highlighted that Azerbaijan fails its human rights obligations by taking no action to lift the blockade.<ref name="AI" />
* [[Socialist International]] – said in a statement that "We urge the Azerbaijan authorities to ensure freedom and security of movement along the corridor, in line with the trilateral statement of 9 November 2020. The humanitarian situation is critical and hence the SI strongly calls on the parties to dialogue and negotiation and prevent the humanitarian crisis the blocking may cause in the civil population."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/1101500.html|title=Socialist International urges Azerbaijan to ensure freedom and security of movement along Lachin corridor|date=12 January 2023 }}</ref>
* [[International Disability Alliance]] – issued a joint statement with the European Disability Forum (EDF), condemning the blockade of the "lifeline road", which "has led to a series of human rights violations as well as denial of humanitarian access that has a disproportionately negative impact on persons with disabilities. As a result of the blockade...more than 9,000 persons with disabilities face grave human rights violations."<ref name="IDA-2023">{{Cite web|title=Joint statement on the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, Nagorno-Karabakh|url=https://www.internationaldisabilityalliance.org/blog/joint-statement-blockade-lachin-corridor-nagorno-karabakh|access-date=2023-01-18|website=International Disability Alliance|language=en}}</ref>
* The [[Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy]] – stated: "In the most unequivocal terms we condemn the unacceptable blockade of the Armenian population in Nagorno-Karabakh for over a month now, under false pretenses by organizations and the authorities of Azerbaijan, endangering the lives of 120,000 Armenian who remain in their ancestral homes. We call the international community to immediately intervene towards a solution of this peculiar siege of the Armenian population, which aims at their extermination or displacement."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Statement of the I.A.O. secretary general DR. Maximos Charakopoulos|url=https://eiao.org/athens-23-january-2023-statement-of-the-i-a-o-secretary-general-dr-maximos-charakopoulos/|access-date=2023-01-26|website=eiao.org|language=en}}</ref>
* [[Reporters Without Borders]] – described Nagorno-Karabakh as "becoming a news and information black hole" due to the blockade and the fact that only Azerbaijani journalists from state or pro-government media are physically permitted past checkpoints. The organization "calls on the Azerbaijani authorities and Russian peacekeepers to allow reporters freedom of movement so that they can cover this blockade and its serious humanitarian impact." Jeanne Cavelier, the head of [[Reporters Without Borders]]'s Eastern Europe and Central Asia desk commented on an instance where Azeri state media deliberately misquoted a journalist as falsely suggesting there was no blockade: "This barefaced lie by a government-controlled media outlet is further evidence of a desire on the part of the Azerbaijani authorities to manipulate national and international public opinion. They not only violate the 2020 ceasefire agreement by supporting these eco-activists but they also prevent any accurate coverage of the Lachin corridor blockade and its terrible humanitarian repercussions."<ref name="RSF-2023"/>
== See also ==
* [[2023 Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip]]
==Notes==
{{Notelist}}
==References==
{{Reflist}}
===Works cited===
'''Reports'''
* {{cite book|author=Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe|author-link=Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe|title=Human rights and democratization in the newly independent states of the former Soviet Union, Volume 4; Volume 85|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=United States Congress|series=Implementation of the Helsinki Accords|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PvhoCDGOIMQC|date=January 1993|access-date=21 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103130526/https://books.google.com/books/about/Human_Rights_and_Democratization_in_the.html?id=PvhoCDGOIMQC|archive-date=3 January 2017|url-status=live|ref={{SfnRef|CSCE|1993}}}}
==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|2022 blockade of Lachin corridor|2022–2023 blockade of the Republic of Artsakh}}
{{Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict}}
{{Armenia–Azerbaijan relations}}
[[Category:2022 in international relations]]
[[Category:2023 in international relations]]
[[Category:2022 in Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:2023 in Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:2022 in the Republic of Artsakh]]
[[Category:2023 in the Republic of Artsakh]]
[[Category:July 2020 events in Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:July 2020 events in Armenia]]
[[Category:December 2022 events in Armenia]]
[[Category:January 2023 events in Armenia]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 2022]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 2023]]
[[Category:Aftermath of the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War]]
[[Category:Military operations of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict]]
[[Category:Anti-Armenian sentiment in Azerbaijan]]
[[Category:Ilham Aliyev]]
[[Category:Nikol Pashinyan]]
[[Category:Blockades|Nagorno-Karabakh]]