During the meeting with Putin, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan expressed complaints regarding the inactivity of Russian “peacekeepers” in Karabakh.

Pashinyan stated that they have not held control over the Lachin Corridor, which is critically important for Armenia, for 20 days.

The Russian media reported this.

He emphasized that according to the agreement of the three leaders – Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia – the Lachin Corridor should be under the control of the Russian military.

“You know that it has been closed for almost 20 days. This is the area of responsibility of Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh. Let me remind you that according to the tripartite statement (from November 2020) of the Presidents of the Russian Federation, Azerbaijan, and the Prime Minister of Armenia, the Lachin corridor should be under the control of Russian peacekeepers. Azerbaijan guaranteed unimpeded passage of passengers and goods. Now it turns out that the Lachin corridor is not under the control of the Russian military,” Nikol Pashinyan said.

Previously, on December 22, the Prime Minister of Armenia already criticized the Russian side for inaction.

“De facto, it turns out that the Russian peacekeeping contingent is not fulfilling the obligation to keep the Lachin Corridor under control as part of the tripartite statement. Of course, something like this happens due to the illegal actions of Azerbaijan, but this does not change the situation since the main goal of the Russian peacekeeping forces is to prevent such lawlessness, namely to keep the Lachin Corridor under control,” Pashinyan said.

On December 12, the Lachin Corridor was closed to traffic due to a protest by citizens of Azerbaijan, who demanded an end to the excavation of minerals from the region.

Protesters are still in place.

Azerbaijani media publishes footage of the passage of the Russian contingent’s equipment through the Lachin corridor.

The Azerbaijani authorities deny the information about the complete blockade of the corridor and claim that civilians can move freely along the road and that it is blocked precisely because of the barricades installed by the Russian military.