MADRID, 16 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The spokesman for the United States Department of State, Vedant Patel, has urged Azerbaijan on Tuesday to lift the closure of the Lachin corridor, which connects Armenian territory with Nagorno Karabakh, for humanitarian reasons, since there has been a shortage of basic products for several months. .
“We remain deeply concerned by the continued closure of the Lachín corridor, especially the commercial, humanitarian and private vehicle closure,” Patel said during a press conference.
“Stopping this type of traffic, in our opinion, worsens the humanitarian situation and undermines the efforts that have been made to build confidence in the peace process. Therefore, we urge the Government of Azerbaijan to restore the free movement of vehicles commercial, humanitarian and private through this corridor”, added the spokesman.
Patel recalled that this Wednesday the UN Security Council will hold a meeting on the matter, and has insisted on the need for dialogue to bring “peace and stability” to the region.
Both the Armenian and Nagorno Karabagh authorities have accused Baku of attempting ethnic cleansing and genocide in the area.
The Armenian Ministry of Defense has denounced this Tuesday that the Army of Azerbaijan has opened fire against a patrol of the civil mission of the European Union in Armenia in the region of Verin Shorzha, near the shared border, although the incident has settled no injuries.
Azerbaijan previously accused Yerevan of reinforcing its military personnel and increasing its weapons equipment along the border, claims that have already been denied by the Armenian side, which claimed that it is a “disinformation campaign” by the Azeri side of Yerevan. facing his next “provocation”.
Armenia and Azerbaijan have also exchanged in recent months numerous accusations of violating the 2020 ceasefire, which ended the Second Nagorno Karabakh War –after that of 1994–. The conflict ended in victory for Azerbaijan, which recovered territories taken by Armenia in the First Nagorno Karabagh War, including the important city of Shusha.
Since then, both countries have maintained various contacts to try to sign a peace agreement, although the talks have encountered various obstacles, including the situation around the Lachín corridor, which connects Armenia with the self-proclaimed republic of Arstaj. The area has the presence of Russian soldiers deployed as peacekeepers under the aforementioned ceasefire agreement.
