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Russian peacekeeping forces are working around the clock to resolve the situation in the Lachine Corridor and are in contact with the parties, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said

Sergei Viktorovich Lavrov is a Russian diplomat, and since 2004 he has been the Minister of Foreign Affairs at a press conference after talks with Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov, TASS reported.

"We looked, of course, at the situation that is of greatest interest at the moment - the escalation of the situation in the Lachine Corridor. We confirmed that Russian peacekeepers are working literally hourly to resolve the situation in contacts with the relevant countries," he said.

"We support the restoration of full-fledged transport links as soon as possible and the resolution of disputes regarding the development of ore deposits in the region. The topic is old, inherited from the Soviet Union, and of course it is necessary to normalize the situation as soon as possible," he added Lavrov.

According to the Russian Foreign Minister, Moscow proceeds from the fact that everyone must strictly adhere to the commitments contained in the statement of the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia dated November 9, 2020 regarding the traffic regime along the Lachin Corridor.

"Our Azerbaijani colleagues, as I understand, are in the same position," Lavrov pointed out.

"Unfortunately, our Armenian colleagues did not come, they announced it at the last minute. We took this into account, but nevertheless we decided to meet and see where we are both in terms of the current issues today and in terms of moving towards a long-term settlement of the whole situation in all its aspects", emphasized Lavrov.

Azerbaijani military entered an area controlled by Armenians for 30 years

The point of conflict

The Lachin Corridor is the only road that connects Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, TASS notes.

On December 12, a group of Azerbaijanis posing as environmentalists blocked the corridor where a Russian peacekeeping contingent is temporarily stationed.

Baku said the purpose of the protest was not to block the road and that civilian vehicles could move freely in both directions.

Yerevan views the action as a provocation by Baku, which aims to cause a humanitarian catastrophe in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia's Security Council Secretary Armen Grigoryan said earlier that Yerevan has called on the UN, the OSCE and the OSCE Minsk Group to send a mission to assess the situation with the Lachin Corridor.

On December 14, Armenia turned to the European Court of Human Rights with a request to oblige Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin Corridor.

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated at a government meeting that in Nagorno-Karabakh, food shortages have started to be felt due to the blocking of the corridor, TASS recalls, quoted by BTA.

Sergey Lavrov

Azerbaijan

Armenia

Nagorno-Karabakh