French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday December 23 called on his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliev to allow the « libre circulation » between the separatist enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia, hampered for more than a week by Azerbaijani militants.
During a telephone interview, he told her “expresses its deep concern at the renewed tension in the South Caucasus” and called to “allow free movement along the Lachin corridor”said the Elysee.
The French President also underlined “the urgency of guaranteeing the unimpeded access of humanitarian organizations and United Nations agencies to the affected populations” you Haut-Karabakh. “President Aliyev has said his intention to ensure free movement in the corridor”according to the French presidency.
For more than a week, Azerbaijani activists have blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road linking Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia, claiming to be protesting against illegal mines in the region.
Russia calls for calm
Yerevan accuses Baku of having staged these protests and of deliberately blocking this road. Accusations rejected by Azerbaijan, which ensures that it is always possible to circulate on this vital axis.
Armenia also accuses of inaction the Russian peacekeepers deployed there since November 2020, after a six-week war between Baku and Yerevan, while Moscow is monopolized by its military intervention in Ukraine.
The head of Russian diplomacy Sergey Lavrov called for his side to appeasement between Armenia and Azerbaijan during a meeting in Moscow on Friday with his Azerbaijani counterpart, boycotted by Yerevan.